BassPack is national bass fishing champ
N.C. State students Chad
Craven (left) and Alex Freeman (center) angled in a $12,000 scholarship from Chris Edwards of BoatU.S.
Photo by Scott Helsel Photography
The BassPack, N.C. State University's student bass-fishing team, took first place at the BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship in October. The team won a championship trophy and $12,000 in scholarship money at the three-day event held on Lake Lewisville in northern Texas.
N.C. State's two-man team title-winners were Alex Freeman, the N.C. State bass-fishing club treasurer and a CALS sophomore in agricultural education, and Chad Craven, a senior in political science. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that the two "used a clever mix of lures and tactics to capture the inaugural BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship," as they "cruised to victory with a final day five-fish limit of 13.57 pounds, easily beating out Eastern Kentucky and Oklahoma State."
The N.C. State bass fishing club, formed in January 2005, comprises 30 active student members from a variety of majors. Jonathan Phillips, faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE), advises the team. The club receives no university funding and has been supported by donations from Ranger Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Webb's Fiberglass, JB Custom Rods and Rosco's outdoor company, Phillips said.
The club participates in numerous community volunteer events and hosted an intercollegiate fishing tournament last year, he said. Recently the group joined CALS Agricultural Institute students in working the dairy promotion booth at the State Fair.
"It's great for students who want to socialize and learn about fishing," Phillips said. "It is also a place for serious competitors."
And, as Freeman and Craven have shown, a place for winners.
- Terri Leith
N.C. State's two-man team title-winners were Alex Freeman, the N.C. State bass-fishing club treasurer and a CALS sophomore in agricultural education, and Chad Craven, a senior in political science. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that the two "used a clever mix of lures and tactics to capture the inaugural BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship," as they "cruised to victory with a final day five-fish limit of 13.57 pounds, easily beating out Eastern Kentucky and Oklahoma State."
The N.C. State bass fishing club, formed in January 2005, comprises 30 active student members from a variety of majors. Jonathan Phillips, faculty member in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ARE), advises the team. The club receives no university funding and has been supported by donations from Ranger Boats, Yamaha Outboards, Webb's Fiberglass, JB Custom Rods and Rosco's outdoor company, Phillips said.
The club participates in numerous community volunteer events and hosted an intercollegiate fishing tournament last year, he said. Recently the group joined CALS Agricultural Institute students in working the dairy promotion booth at the State Fair.
"It's great for students who want to socialize and learn about fishing," Phillips said. "It is also a place for serious competitors."
And, as Freeman and Craven have shown, a place for winners.
- Terri Leith