More than 200 student anglers to convene on Lake Lewisville next week
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Sept. 8, 2008) – The field is set for the 2008 BoatU.S.National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship (NCBFC), with 106 two-person teams representing 57 schools from 23 states registered to participate. The full-field enrollment makes it the largest college bass tournament ever held.
Presented by Careco Multimedia and Fox College Sports, the three-day tournament takes place on Lake Lewisville, Texas (near Dallas), Sept. 18-20. The stage is unlike any other in collegiate sports because regardless of school size, each team competes against one another on equal terms in head-to-head competition.
Among the mix are traditional college-sport Division I powerhouses from the Big 12, SEC, Pac-10, Big East and more, but there are also many small schools that don’t have big time athletic programs. A team from North Carolina State won the inaugural event in 2006. Last year it was a Texas A&M team. However, it was the University of Montevallo (Alabama) that won a large regional event earlier in the year over schools like Auburn, Ole Miss and Georgia.
“This is fishing and bass don’t really care about who’s on the other end of the line,” said Wade Middleton, tournament director and a longtime television fishing show host. “That’s the beauty of this sport and why the field can be so diverse and every team has a chance at winning. Many of our participants excelled at other sports in high school but couldn’t or didn’t want to compete at the college level. In fishing, just about any student who wants to can get involved,” he said.
From last year’s winning Texas A&M team, Justin Rackley had aspirations of a pro baseball career before an injury ended the dream. Now he’s known on campus for his bass fishing success and has his sights set on a pro fishing career.
Montevallo’s Clent Davis has always been focused on fishing. “I grew up fishing, love the sport and am thrilled to have this opportunity to fish on our school’s team,” he said. “We like the fact that we can go right up against the big guys and know we can beat them. Right now our team members are recruiting new students to carry on what we’ve started.”
Also unlike other college sports, bass fishing teams can be male, female or co-ed. In some instances, it has been the girls responsible for starting their school’s fishing program. That was certainly the case with Tiffany Spencer from the University of Texas-Arlington and Kat Cammack from the Metropolitan State College of Denver (Colo.). Both ladies were instrumental in getting fishing clubs started and their teams entered into the championship.
For teams to be eligible to compete in the championship they must be officially recognized school fishing programs. During NCBFC competition, each team is responsible for full operation of their boats. Only artificial lures are allowed and each team is allowed to weigh-in five bass, measuring at least 14 inches in length for largemouth and 12 inches for spotted bass, each day. Team standings are based on cumulative total weights each day. After the second day of competition, only the top five teams advance to the third and final day. The finalists compete from equally rigged Ranger Z-21 bass boats with Yamaha outboards, MotorGuide trolling motors and Garmin electronics.
All teams are fishing for the more than $35,000 in scholarships and prizes, but in the true sense of college rivalries most say the real honor comes in carrying the national championship award back home to their schools. “Trevor (Knight) and I lifting the trophy over our heads last year was an unbelievable experience that I’ll never forget,” said Texas A&M’s Rackley. “It’s something I’d like to do again this year.” Rackley has a chance to repeat as he does return, but with a new partner as Knight graduated since last year’s win.
The championship will be featured along with several other collegiate regional bass fishing events as part of the 13-episode NCBFC television series produced by Careco Multimedia in conjunction with Fox College Sports that begins airing in early October on Fox College Sports and affiliated networks.
The 2008 NCBFC is made possible by a long listing of leading companies, including BoatU.S., BoatU.S. Angler, Ranger Boats, Cabela’s, American Rodsmiths, Anglers’ Legacy, Abu Garcia, Aviva Fishin’ Buddy, Berkley, Costa Del Mar, EPIC Sports Video Cam, Falcon FTO tackle organizers, Fenwick, Frogg Toggs, Garmin, Gemini Sport Marketing, Lago Vista Lodge, Gene Larew Lures, MotorGuide, PowerPole, Rapala’s Fishing Frenzy, Sebile, Sperry Top-Sider, TruckVault, Witz Sportcases, Yamaha, City of Lewisville, Sneaky Pete’s Marina and Fox College Sports.
For more information about the 2008 NCBFC, visit www.collegiatebasschampionship.com.
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2008 BoatU.S. Championship Teams
Posted at www.collegiatebasschampionship.com/Schools.htm.
ALABAMA
Auburn University – Adam Murphree/Clay Messer
Auburn University – Richard Peek/Paul Davis
Auburn University – Sam Rochell/Dennis Parker
Faulkner University – John Galloway/Justin Barnes
Faulkner University – Kyle Tindol/Michael Eubanks
Troy University – Craig Karrh/Tyler Weaver
University of Alabama – Foster Bradley/Brent Frederick
University of Alabama – Ben Weldon/Warren Hoffman
University of Alabama – Daniel Statum/Jeff Aul
University of Alabama-Birmingham – Tim Waits/Braxton Setzer
University of Montevallo – Clent Davis/Chuck Holderfield
University of Montevallo – Dustin Gray/Josh Lamar
University of South Alabama – Jonathan Pope/Joshua Pope
University of South Alabama – Tyler Pitts/Matt Gardner
ARIZONA
Arizona State – Mitch Kistner/Craig Carroll
Arizona State – Brent Perkins/Michael Eyler
Arizona State – Chris Yee/Whitney Cummins
ARKANSAS
Arkansas Tech – Wesley Lambert/Trevor Graddy
Arkansas Tech – Eric Shatford/Matthew Goddard
University of Arkansas – Jerid Jones/Chris Jackson
University of Arkansas – Kazuki Kitajima/Bodie Drake
University of Arkansas – Matt Graves/Jay Berry
COLORADO
Metropolitan State College of Denver – Adam McHenry/Kat Cammack
FLORIDA
University of Central Florida – Brent Compton/Joe Forker
University of Central Florida – Scott Noce/Patrick Mangold
Webber International University – Duane Bowman/Harris Hartley
Webber International University – Marty Wilson/Alicia Mohler
GEORGIA
Georgia College & State University – Matt Henry/Zach Olson
INDIANA
Ball State University – Tyler Steward/Ryan Meinart
Ball State University – Jed Puckett/Brent Paull
Indiana University – Eric Boger/Tyler Zschiedrich
Purdue University – Jacob Spencer/Chris Bookout
Purdue University – Aaron McAlexander/Ben Wood
Purdue University – Chad Dunham/
ILLINOIS
Southern Illinois University – Richard Dunham/Tyler Ailor
Southern Illinois University – Bryan Partak/Colby Thompson
IOWA
University of Iowa – Josh Heine/Matt Taylor
University of Iowa – Tyler Mehrl/Bob Downey
KANSAS
Kansas State – Casey Smith/Jared Brooks
Kansas State – Ben Fuchs/Aaron Barney
KENTUCKY
Eastern Kentucky University – Andrew Luxon/Richard Cobb
Eastern Kentucky University – Ryan Oller/Christopher Davis
Eastern Kentucky University – Tyler Moberly/James Wathen
Murray State University – Daniel Langton/Cory Carr
Murray State University – Drew Snider/Treston Smith
University of Kentucky – Todd Hodges/Aaron Young
University of Louisville – Travis Andres/Cody Greenwell
Western Kentucky University – Adam Hock/Matt Baker
LOUISIANA
Louisiana State University-Shreveport – Zachary Caudle/Harmon Carson
Louisiana State University-Shreveport – Patrick Morton/Will Moore
Louisiana Tech University – Aaron Rogillio/Jordan Wiggins
Louisiana Tech University – Brock Brunson/Brandon Holmes
Northwestern State University – Zachary Gaghard/Paul Rini
Northwestern State University – Nathan Fields/Jonathan Bennett
Northwestern State University – Jeff Rich/Aaron Sistrunk
University of Louisiana-Lafayette – Cody McCrary/Neil Arnaud
MISSOURI
Drury University – Drew Sanford/Drew Simon
Drury University – Alex Sahliyeh/Derek Brown
Southeast Missouri State University – Adam Zielinski/Alex Skelton
Southeast Missouri State University – Taylor Gorton/Mike Rains
MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi State University – Bradley Sartain/Harry Halliwell
Mississippi State University – Cal Clark/Wes Gibson
University of Mississippi – Chad Hollan/Richard Orr
NEBRASKA
University of Nebraska – Tony Cimino/Seth Zentner
University of Nebraska – Shane Strope/Drew Friedrich
NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina State University – Will White/Kyle Hodgin
North Carolina State University – Joshua Hooks/Chad Bazen
OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma State University – James Elam/Kris McDonald
Oklahoma State University – Daniel Davis/Orie Chambers
University of Oklahoma – Chip Porche’/Matt Pangrac
University of Oklahoma – Jordon Nichols/Justin Hurd
OREGON
University of Oregon – Carter Troughton/Ross Richards
University of Oregon – Chris Parks/Joe Cote
PENNSYLVANIA
Penn State – Jason Haney/Derrick Hughes
TENNESSEE
Freed – Hardeman University – John Lawson/Nathan Pirtle
University of Tennessee – Nicholas Tate/Chris Tate
University of Tennessee-Martin – Matthew Tubbs/Kevin Shorey
University of Tennessee-Martin – Michael Keatts/Matthew Jones
TEXAS
Baylor University – Jay Holland/Christopher Gass
Baylor University – Andrew McAdams/Ryan Thompson
Lamar University – Joshua Maddox/Matt Morrison
Sam Houston State – Joshua Rush/Bubba Gough
Sam Houston State – Bill Weekly/Trey Rapsilver
Stephen F. Austin State University – Kendall Wleczyk/Cale Schrock
Stephen F. Austin State University – Ryan Watkins/Andrew Upshaw
Tarleton State University – Chris Michels/Tanner Morgan
Tarleton State University – Cole Koenig/Kyle Barfield
Tarleton State University – John Anderson/Kent Andries
Texas A&M University – William Edmonds/Kenny Stewart
Texas A&M University – Justin Rackley/Andrew Shafer
Texas A&M University-Kingsville – Jerod Hawkes/
Texas Tech – Ryan Dupriest/Laramie Coggan
Texas Tech – Wesley Medford/Russell Felt
Texas Tech – Chad Pabody/John Guest
University of North Texas – Brandon Dickenson/Kevin Lain
University of North Texas – Steven Hollowell/Chaz Pair
University of Texas-Austin – Mason Welch/John Reina
University of Texas-Austin – William Waldschmidt/Micah Scheler
University of Texas-Austin – Ty Brockhoeft/Bobby Frey
University of Texas-Arlington – Stephen Pineau/Drew Bryan
University of Texas-Arlington – Brady Beal/Bryan Lewis
University of Texas-Arlington – Tiffany Spencer/Taryn Bishop
VIRGINIA
Virginia Tech – Scott Wiley/Charlie Machek
Virginia Tech – Brett Thompson/
WISCONSIN
University of Wisconsin-Madison – Derek Frederixon/Drew Frederixon
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Joseph Marty/Curtis Meshak
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point – Kristopher Korn/Casey Kmiecik
