I can hear my readers smirking as they read this. Fishing scholarship? Are you kidding me? Believe it or not, it’s no joke. There are some hefty scholarships out there waiting to be reeled in. Let’s look at bass fishing, for example:
- A google search of “bass fishing scholarships” reels in 45,000 matches.
- There are 220 colleges with bass fishing scholarships
Take Bethel College in McKenzie, Tennessee, for instance. Their bass team was featured in The New York Times just two weeks ago. Bethel made Lauren Stamps the first woman bass angler ever to be awarded a college scholarship for bass fishing. Tyler Wadzinski, a senior at Franklin (Tenn.) High School, was awarded a $4,000 ride to fish for the Bethel Wildcats. Wondering about Bethel College’s academic reputation? It was founded in 1842; has 2,700 students; offers 28 undergraduate programs and five Masters. Their athletic program includes 16 men’s and 13 women’s sports (NAIA). In addition to their home campus in McKenzie, they have five satellite campuses in Tennessee.
Not convinced? Look at just some of the top colleges with bass clubs — Duke, Cornell, Northwestern and Texas A&M. If you’re looking for a complete list, go online to www.collegebass.com. Odds are you might be surprised by some of the colleges listed that have bass fishing teams and scholarships.
Remember, sports are not just “stick and ball” anymore. If student-athletes can win scholarships for skiing, shooting and tumbling, why not bass fishing? Here are some great tips from an angler to help your student perfect their fishing and snag some of those scholarships: 30 Actionable Bass Fishing Tips You Need to Catch More Bass.
It may not be for everyone, but if your child is interested, put them on a scholarship track now by suggesting that they investigate this new financial boon.
Get your chance to win $1000 college scholarship from ThePensters.com.
thanks for the help but i would like to know what i need to do to get one
Follow the link in the post that directs you to the scholarship information.
i would like to apply for a scholarship. How would I go about doing that.
Michael, you can apply for this scholarship using the link on the post.
I don’t see the link. Can a student receive a scholarship if their High School team does not have a fishing team? What can we do to help our son in this area?
You don’t have to be on a fishing team to qualify for a scholarship. There are numerous competitions available with scholarship prizes. My advice is to check out the college websites for these type of scholarships or look at this page to see which colleges awarded the scholarships http://www.bassmaster.com/search?query=scholarships . These types of scholarships are not as prevalent as academic scholarships, however.
Your student can also start his own club and enter competitions. You only need two interested students and a club adviser. The club will be sanctioned by BASS International and can compete. Here’s the link: http://www.bassmaster.com/sites/default/files/bassmaster2011/imce/suggestions_for_a_hs_club_revised_3-1-13.pdf