With the thrill of competitive bass fishing being compared to NASCAR racing, BoatUS, the nation’s largest organization of recreational boaters, has decided to wade into the fray and sponsor the National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship. Slated for October 19-21 on Lake Lewisville, TX, just outside Dallas, over 40 teams will be represented at the event, including schools from the Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10 and SEC. The tournament will be televised on the Fox College Sports network beginning January 2007 and will air a 30-minute show each week through June 2007.

The teams are expected to fish for almost 30 hours over three days. The full field will fish during the first two days of the competition, and the five teams with the most weight accumulated on days one and two will advance to the finals on day three. All teams begin anew in the finals. All five schools in the finals will share $25,000 in prize money which will be presented to each university’s fishing club.

TV fishing personality Wade Middleton will be the on air host for the event with Bass Master Classic and FLW Tour champion Luke Clausen, Bass Elite and FLWO tour angler Kelly Jordan, and Bass Elite tour angler Jeff Kriet providing analysis. The event is being produced for Fox College Sports by Careco Multimedia.

With over half of the Association’s 670,000 members fishing from their boats, BoatUS Founder Richard Schwartz hopes to reach out to even more anglers with this event. “This sponsorship is part of a major campaign to attract the freshwater fishing market,” says Schwartz.

The Association is launching a new BoatUS “Angler” membership program that includes on-the-water and on-the-road towing coverage with 24 hour a day telephone dispatch, launch ramp rebates, discounts at West Marine and a subscription to BoatUS Trailering Magazine. The Association also offers anglers a specialized fishing boat insurance policy with extra coverage available for expensive fishing gear and equipment such as trolling motors, electronics and tackle and includes tournament coverage.

Additional sponsors include Ranger, Garmin, Evinrude, Cabelas, Anglers Legacy Program, Keelshield, YoZuri, Sebile, and American Rodsmith.

BoatUS – Boat Owners Association of The United States – is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boaters providing its members with a wide array of consumer services including a group-rate marine insurance program that insures nearly a quarter million boats; the largest fleet of more than 500 towing assistance vessels; discounts on fuel, slips, and repairs at over 835 Cooperating Marinas; boat financing; and a subscription to BoatUS Magazine, the most widely read boating publication in the U.S. For membership information visit http://www.BoatUS.com or call 800-395-2628.