Without NCAA Recognition, Collegiate Fishing Draws Sponsors

The Collegiate Bass Anglers Association (CBAA) is “considering applying for NCAA recognition” even though that move would halt the sponsorship money that the CBAA earns, according to Ann Zimmerman of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The NCAA “bans college athletes from accepting sponsorship swag or prize money.”  The CBAA was founded two years ago by two former college baseball coaches, and to date has been contacted by 180 schools “asking for help in starting a college fishing team.” None of the competitors receive college scholarships for the sport. The second annual National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship, held recently at Lake Lewisville near Dallas, had "over a dozen sponsors," including sporting goods retailer Cabela's and boat owners association BoatU.S., and the winning two-person team from Texas A&M won $14,000 in prize money. Justin Rackley last year quit his junior college baseball team to join the fishing team at Texas A&M, and his mother, Wendy, said, "Between sponsorships and prize money, he assured us he could make more money  fishing than from baseball" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 10/25).