The Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia is college fishing’s only all-encompassing national ranking system.
Points are awarded at a variety of events across the country including major events on national trails; ACA, B.A.S.S., and MLF, as well as numerous School-Run events on the local and select independent regional level events.
The Association of Collegiate Anglers manages the School of the Year points system to provide hundreds of top teams comprised of thousands of elite anglers from across the country with the opportunity to compete, being recognized nationally and regionally, in an attempt to finish the year ranked in the prestigious Top 25, and ultimately achieve the coveted number one ranking.
“This is going to be an exciting year ahead for college fishing. I’ve been involved in fishing events for over 30 years now and I know first-hand how schedules will evolve and change annually, and even sometimes during the season for a variety of reasons,” noted Wade Middleton, Director of the Association of Collegiate Anglers.
On Tuesday evening of last week, MLF announced the 2023 season schedule and format for its Abu Garcia College Fishing Series set to begin next year. Part of these changes include the elimination of conferences on the MLF college trail and an open format schedule comprised of eight regular season events and an end of year Championship. Per ACA rules for the 2022-23 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia, conference alignment dictated the allotment of points and events in which schools could be eligible to receive points at MLF College Series events.
After diligent discussion, and with the best interest of the teams/anglers in mind, the Association of Collegiate Anglers has made modifications to the 2022-23 School of the Year program details. The current rules, regarding earning points at in conference and one out of conference event, remain in place for the remainder of the fall semester. Then to finish out the season, starting January 1, 2023, schools can earn points at any of the 2023 MLF spring events, but they can only earn points in a maximum of five (5) MLF major events during the 2022-23 race for Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia.
Along with the changes regarding conferences and MLF events, additional provisions have been made regarding tournament field sizes and the points allotted to the winner. View the complete updated program details here.
