BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Locations of the final two events in the 2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series schedule — the Wild Card tournament and the national championship — have been decided, B.A.S.S. announced today. The nation’s best college anglers who qualify for the 2016 Bassmaster College Series National Championship will be competing on Green River Lake, out of Campbellsville, Ky., July 28-30.
“We are so pleased that B.A.S.S. has chosen Campbellsville for their 2016 College Series National Championship,” said Alisha Nelson, executive director of the Taylor County Tourist Commission. “This event will bring anglers and their families to our community, and we're excited to share it with them. We hope they love our community as much as we do and come back to visit.”
Campbellsville University will play host to the more than 90 teams expected to compete.
“The staff at Campbellsville University realizes the importance of tourism and the economic impact sports tourism can bring to the community,” Nelson said. “They have gone above and beyond to make this tournament happen in Campbellsville. It wouldn't have been possible for us to host a tournament of this size without a partnership with Campbellsville University.”
“We are excited to take our national championship to central Kentucky,” said Bassmaster College Series tournament manager Hank Weldon. “With the support of such a great host and school, we expect this tournament to be the premier event in college fishing.”
At the national championship, the entire field competes on the first two days. On the third day, the field is trimmed to the Top 12 teams catching the heaviest cumulative five-bass daily limits. National championship takeoffs will be held at Green River State Park, and weigh-ins will be on the Campbellsville University campus.
Following the championship round, members of the Top 4 teams compete individually in the Carhartt College Series Classic Bracket presented by Bass Pro Shops Aug. 4-6 on Kentucky Lake out of Paris, Tenn. The top college angler in the Classic bracket competition earns an invitation to compete with the world’s top professional bass anglers in the 2017 Bassmaster Classic.
Teams qualify for the championship through a series of conference regional tournaments that began in February. The final qualifier is the College Wild Card event, which will be held on Lake Murray, Oklahoma, June 8-10 in conjunction with Bassmaster BASSfest on nearby Lake Texoma. This event gives competitors who do not qualify for the championship through their regional a second shot at making the national championship.
Lake Murray is a 5,700-acre lake near Ardmore, Okla., and lies within Oklahoma’s oldest and largest state park, Lake Murray State Park. During the first two competition days, anglers will weigh in at the park. On the final day, competitors will weigh in on the BASSfest stage, and the top teams in the final standings are invited to the 2016 Carhartt Bassmaster College Series National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.
The championship, like all Carhartt Bassmaster College Series events, will be aired on the ESPNU network.