Published: June 20, 2008 08:42 am         

OSU anglers aiming for Big 12 bass title

This weekend, James Elam is hoping for two things — a boat full of bass and a Big 12 title.

The Oklahoma State Bass Club will serve as the host team for the Heartland Regional on Saturday at Lake Eufaula, the largest lake in the state. Elam, president of OSU’s bass fishing squad, said he expects about 50 teams from across the nation to compete in the tournament.

The Big 12 will have representatives from each school with the exception of Kansas. The top five conference finishers in the Heartland tourney will battle Sunday for the inaugural Big 12 championship.

“It’s pretty cool to do something you really like at a level like this,” said Elam, a soon-to-be O-State senior majoring in landscape architecture. “There’s a lot of tactic (to bass fishing) and it’s fun.”

Elam is one of the six members — including Daniel Davis, Orie Chambers, Josh Bryant, Kris McDonald and Brent Jones — of the OSU Bass Club, which formed two years ago.

The sport, sanctioned by the Collegiate Bass Anglers Association, has witnessed quite a surge over the last few years. When the CBAA was incorporated in the fall of 2004, there were about two dozen collegiate bass fishing teams.

“Since that time, we have provided 262 club development plans and of that, about 140 have become student organizations,” said Troy Heckaman, co-founder and commissioner of the CBAA. “Fishing is an emerging sport and we’re proud to be part of it.”

Elam has also noticed a rise in interest. A couple of years ago, the Cowboys participated in a national tournament which was televised by Fox Sports Net. There were approximately 50 squads taking part in the event, and at the same tourney last year, the number of competitors doubled.

“There’s clubs popping up everywhere,” Elam said. “It’s been really nice to see.”

Television exposure has played a major role in the collegiate bass fishing ascent. Texas A&M claimed a national championship last year on FSN, and Virginia Tech also took home a national title in front of an ESPN audience.

Perhaps the biggest concern with the sport is the cost. Since there is no NCAA involvement — and universities provide little to no financial support — collegiate bass fishing is funded primarily by corporate sponsors such as Legend Boats and various bait companies.

“The expenses can take a lot out of your pocket,” Elam said.

In addition to the chance of winning a conference championship, Elam is anticipating the opportunity to face off against Bedlam rival Oklahoma — a club that also has just six bass fishing members and is No. 6 in the CBAA rankings, which are released every month.

The Cowboys are ranked 25th in the latest fishing poll (no pun intended). Other conference squads in the rankings are A&M (No. 2), Kansas State (14th) and Texas Tech (No. 16). Up next for OSU is a tournament in Arkansas which will be broadcast on ESPN in late July.

On the national scene, the CBAA — a non-profit amateur athletic organization — is finalizing plans for the inaugural Southeastern Conference championship which is expected to occur in October.

     

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