Fishing League Worldwide (FLW) announced Thursday the schedule, rules and entry dates for the 2020 FLW College Fishing presented by YETI season, highlighted by the FLW College Fishing National Championship on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida, and advancement opportunities for anglers to compete in the Bass Fishing League (BFL) All-American and the FLW Series Championship. All teams also now have the freedom to add as many nonconference tournaments to their schedule as they like.
Both members of the winning team at the 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship will advance to the 2020 FLW Series Championship where they will compete for a top prize of $200,000. Both members of the second, third and fourth-place teams will advance to the 2020 BFL All-American to compete as boaters where they are guaranteed $1,500 plus a shot at winning the top prize of $100,000. Both members of the fifth and sixth-place teams advance to the 2020 All-American to compete as co-anglers where they are guaranteed $750 plus a shot at winning $50,000. Additionally, each angler finishing in the top 10 at the 2020 National Championship receives priority entry into the 2021 FLW Series.
Each regular-season tournament, the FLW College Fishing Open and the FLW College Fishing National Championship will feature FLW Live weigh-in coverage. The National Championship will also receive national television coverage.
FLW will continue to recognize top performing schools with FLW College Fishing School of the Year titles, awarded to the top overall school of the season as well as the top school from each of five conferences. Schools earn points based on their top two teams in each tournament. The school with the most points in each conference and overall at the end of the season win. School of the Year points are only awarded for in-conference tournaments.
“Opening up conferences for participation by nonconference teams was a request several schools had this season, so we are glad to extend this opportunity to all teams in 2020,” said Kevin Hunt, FLW Senior Director of Tournament Operations, College and High School. “This change will allow teams the opportunity to travel and fish incredible lakes and rivers that are not in their conference. It also gives teams more chances to qualify for the National Championship while maintaining the prestige of our conference and overall School of the Year titles.”
Registration for teams wanting to compete in the 2020 FLW College Fishing tournaments is now open. Teams can register at FLWFishing.com or by calling 270.252.1000. The entry fee is unchanged for 2020 at $75 per team for teams entering prior to onsite check-in. The onsite entry fee is $100 per team.
FLW College Fishing teams compete in three regular-season qualifying tournaments in one of five conferences – Central, Northern, Southern, Southeastern and Western. The top ten teams from each division’s three regular-season tournaments and the top 20 teams from the annual FLW College Fishing Open advance to the following year’s FLW College Fishing National Championship. Additional teams qualify for the National Championship if the field size in regular-season events exceeds 100 boats or 200 boats in the Open. The 2020 FLW College Fishing National Championship is on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Leesburg, Florida, Feb. 26-28, and is hosted by Lake County, Florida.
FLW College Fishing tournaments in the Central, Northern, Southern and Southeastern conferences will continue to be held on Fridays to allow colleges to network with prospective students participating in FLW’s increasingly popular Bass Pro Shops High School Fishing Opens held Saturday in conjunction with each tournament. Western conference tournaments will take place on Saturdays with High School Fishing tournaments following on Sundays.
2020 FLW College Fishing presented by YETI Schedule:
FLW College Fishing Open
· March 17-18 Kentucky Lake Gilbertsville, Ky.
Central Conference
· March 6 Table Rock Lake Branson, Mo.
· May 29 Mississippi River La Crosse, Wis.
· Sept. 11 Ohio River Paducah, Ky.
Northern Conference
· April 17 Smith Mountain Lake Huddleston, Va.
· July 31 Lake Erie Sandusky, Ohio
· Sept. 25 Chesapeake Bay Edgewood, Md.
Southeastern Conference
· Feb. 7 Lake Seminole Bainbridge, Ga.
· April 24 Lake Guntersville Guntersville, Ala.
· Oct. 16 Lake Hartwell Anderson, S.C.
Southern Conference
· March 27 Fort Gibson Lake Wagoner, Okla.
· Oct. 2 Ouachita River Monroe, La.
· Nov. 13 Sam Rayburn Reservoir Brookeland, Texas
Western Conference
· March 14 Lake Havasu Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
· May 2 California Delta Bethel Island, Calif.
· Sept. 26 Clear Lake Lakeport, Calif.
FLW College Fishing National Championship
· Feb. 26-28 Harris Chain of Lakes Leesburg, Fla.
2020 FLW College Fishing presented by YETI Payouts:
FLW College Fishing Open
(Open to teams from all conferences)
Place Club
1 $30,000 premium 17-foot bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard
Top 20 teams advance to the 2021 National Championship. One additional team advances for every 10 teams over 200 competing.
Qualifiers
(Open to teams from all conferences. Nonconference teams do not earn School of the Year points.)
Place Club
1 $2,000
2 1,000
3 500
4 500
5 500
Top 10 teams advance to the 2021 National Championship. One additional team advances for every 10 teams over 100 competing.
2020 National Championship – No Entry Fee
Place Club + Anglers
1 $30,000 premium 17-foot bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard + 2020 FLW Series Championship entries
2 5,000 + 2020 BFL All-American as boaters
3 4,000 + 2020 BFL All-American as boaters
4 3,000 + 2020 BFL All-American as boaters
5 2,000 + 2020 BFL All-American as co-anglers
6 2020 BFL All-American as co-anglers
