2021-2022 Season

June 1, 2021 – May 27, 2022

UPDATED – 06/01/2021

Points System Description

Teams competing on behalf of their collegiate fishing clubs in a variety of collegiate fishing events will earn points that accumulate in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia race based upon the ACA Points System.    This point system is subject to change based on schedule changes and additions.

ACA Major Events include:

  • AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open – Lake Dardanelle – October 9-10, 2021
  • Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley – Kentucky Lake – March 12-13, 2022
  • Barnett Reservoir Rumble – Barnett Reservoir – April 9-10, 2022
  • BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops – Pickwick Lake – May 26-27, 2022

In those major televised events, as identified by the ACA, up to two (2) teams per university/college bass fishing club may earn points in each of the recognized tournaments. In the event a university/college bass fishing club has more than two (2) teams in a tournament, points will only be awarded based on the university/college bass fishing club’s two (2) highest finishing teams in the final standings.

The ACA Major Events are critical in shaping the final outcome as these nationally televised events are worth “double” points, meaning that two (2) teams per university/college bass fishing club may earn points based on their finish during the event.   Additional teams, after two (2) teams have been awarded points, will keep other teams from earning points based on their finish.

A team must weigh in a fish to earn points.

ACA Major Events will be worth 1,250 points regardless of field size. 1st place will receive 1,250 points and will decrease by 10 point increments all the way to the last team (125thth place) earning points for its place in the standings.  A team must weigh in a fish to earn points and no teams finishing lower than 125th place will earn points.   The top two teams in these events from each school will be awarded points.

ACA BoatUS Championship will be worth 1,500 points regardless of field size. 1st place will receive 1,500 points and will decrease by 20 point increments down to 25th place (1,020 points); 26th to 50th place (645 points) will decrease by 15 point increments; 51st place to 75th place (395 points) will decrease by 10 point increments; and 76th place to 125th place (145 points) will decrease by 5 point increments.  Teams must weigh-in fish to receive points and the top two teams in these events from each school will be awarded points

MLF and B.A.S.S. Series Regional Events

Only the one (1) top finishing team from each university/college bass fishing club will be awarded points based in B.A.S.S./MLF Series regional events on the Points Formula listed below.

Each B.A.S.S./MLF major/regional event will be worth 1,000 points regardless of field size. 1st place will receive 1,000 points and will decrease by 10 point increments all the way to the last team (100thth place) earning points for its place in the standings.  A team must weigh in a fish to earn points and no teams finishing lower than 100th place will earn points.

The ACA reserves the right to add or remove B.A.S.S./MLF events from ACA qualifying events calendar as B.A.S.S./MLF schedules are released or modified   The ACA also reserves the right to allow schools to fish makeup events outside their MLF conference should the schedule or cancellations of events by the hosting organization not allow a school to meet the maximum amount of events allowed for that series during the season.

MLF

Each university/college bass fishing club can only earn points at the first three (3) MLF regional events competed in within their MLF assigned conference.

Each university/college bass fishing club can also earn points at the first one (1) MLF regional event or MLF Collegiate Open competed in outside of their MLF assigned conference.

Per the above criteria, a university/college bass fishing club can only earn points from a maximum of four (4) MLF regional events or MLF Collegiate Open combined.

B.A.S.S.

Each university/college bass fishing club can earn points at all B.A.S.S. regular season collegiate events, excluding the B.A.S.S. Wild Card.   The B.A.S.S. Wildcard event points are explained below.

B.A.S.S. Wild Card Event:   Due to tournament field restrictions, this special event will award 200 points to the winner and decrease in 10 point increments for every place after that until 20th place which will be awarded 10 points.  A maximum of 20 university/college bass fishing teams will be awarded points at this event.  This tournament will be counted towards Bass Pro Shops School of the Year points regardless of how many B.A.S.S./MLF tournaments are competed in.  Only the one (1) top finishing team from each university/college bass fishing club will be awarded points based on the Points Formula listed below.  In the case that a university/college bass fishing club has multiple teams in the top 20, then it will only earn points for its highest finishing team.

MLF and B.A.S.S. Championship Events

MLF and B.A.S.S. Championship Events will be worth 1,500 points regardless of field size.

1st place will receive 1,500 points and will decrease by 20 point increments down to 25th place (1,020 points); 26th to 50th place (645 points) will decrease by 15 point increments; 51st place to 75th place (395 points) will decrease by 10 point increments; and 75th place to 125th place (145 points) will decrease by 5 point increments.  Teams must weigh in fish in order to receive points.

B.A.S.S State Qualifying Events

Schools will be able to earn points in the state qualifier for which their school is located in.  Only the one (1) top finishing team from each school will be awarded points based on the Points Formula listed below.

First place will earn 100 points at each event and the standings will decrease in 5 point increments all the way to the last team earning points for their place (20th place) in the standings.  Teams finishing below the cut-off for last place will not earn any points.   State Qualifying events are responsible for sending in results to the ACA at college@carecotv.com.   If results are not provided by appropriate personnel within 30 days, the results will not count in the standings.  For any event held after May 1, 2022 the results must be turned in no later than five (5) days from completion of the event in order to count towards the 2021-2022 standings. 

Bonus Points

Schools will be able to earn bonus points in the following events:

  • B.A.S.S. College Classic Bracket – 1stplace – 100 points; 2nd place – 50 points
  • 50 bonus points will be awarded to the winner of each of the three (3) major national championship level events: ACA BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship, B.A.S.S. Championship and MLF Championship.
  • Additional bonus point opportunities may be added as other college events are announced and approved by ACA. Check back for updates. 

School-Run and Other Sanctioned Events

Competing in school-run or other ACA-sanctioned events will allow university/college bass fishing clubs to earn additional points based on their top finishing team.

School-run or other sanctioned events, as approved by ACA, will be allowed to host up to three (3) sanctioned events for the 2021-2022 season. Hosting bonus points will only be awarded to a university/college bass fishing club for school-run events that are managed by the hosting university/college bass fishing team and not by a third-party organization; hosting points will not be awarded for other sanctioned events put on by a trail.

School-run or other sanctioned events must promote which events qualify for ACA School of the Year points.

Only the top finishing team from each university/college bass fishing club will earn points based on the breakdown below.

All school-run or other sanctioned events that are sanctioned for School of the Year points will be eligible to receive a max of 100 points for 1st place, regardless of the field size.  Points will decrease in 5-point increments through 20th place, or in the case where there are not 20 teams competing, until last team in the standings to weigh-in fish earns points.  All school-run events must have at least five (5) different schools competing to be sanctioned.

Hosting Bonus:

  • School-Run Events with 50 or more boats earn 100-point bonus
  • School-Run Events with 40 to 49 boats earn 75-point bonus
  • School-Run Events with 30-39 boats earn 50-point bonus
  • School-Run Events with 20-29 boats earn 40-point bonus
  • School-Run Events with 10-19 boats earn 30-point bonus

School-Run Sanctioned Events Criteria

The ACA encourages schools to create and run their own tournament or tournament trail; however, it is up to the ACA to decide whether or not to sanction the event(s) to go towards Bass Pro Shops School of the Year race.  ACA will not sanction more than three (3) events from one (1) school per year.   The ACA in some cases will provide prizes to school-run events as feasible.

* All schools that host an ACA sanctioned event MUST have at least six members of their team signed up for TBF (The Bass Federation) Memberships. This helps to ensure proper insurance coverage and other benefits.  This will also get those six (6) members their MLF Memberships.  Proof of insurance must be provided before event counts towards standings.

* In order for a single open style event to be considered to earn points towards the Bass Pro Shops School of Year standings: it must be an event open to all university/college sanctioned clubs nationwide, have at least five (5) university/college bass fishing clubs compete.  No school will be allowed to host more than three events during any year.  See below for points breakdown.

* Those schools hosting a trail will determine which 3 events will count for School of the Year points. It must be an event open to all university/college sanctioned clubs nationwide, have at least 5 schools competed, and not allow any non-college anglers to compete in it.    No school will be allowed to host more than three events during any year. Only the top finishing team from each school will earn points based on the breakdown.

* Points will be awarded at the end of said tournament(s) or tournament trail upon verifiable results being provided.

Check back for updates and additional events as the season progresses and updates.

Hosting Requirements

* Schools must contact the ACA directly at college@carecotv.com about sanctioning their event.

* Schools must have at least six (6) team members signed up for The Bass Federation Memberships.

* Schools must email a tournament flier with full tournament information (tournament director contact information, location, date, ramps, rules, entry fees, etc.) one (1) month prior to start date of the tournament to the ACA at college@carecotv.com.

* Schools must provide results and a complete recap by Wednesday of the week following the event  or results will not be counted towards ACA School of Year and the host school will not be allowed to host another event for at least one year.

~ Name, School, Email and Phone Number for each angler competing

~ Complete standings for all teams competing

~ 3-5 photos of top finishers

* Schools must be in good standing with the ACA in order to host a tournament or series.

Ties

Ties in qualifying events will be resolved according to league rules prior to assigning point values.

Ties in the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year Program will be broken at the conclusion of the season in the following manner:

1st Tie-breaker: The university/college bass fishing club with the highest number of points accumulated in the four (4) 2021-2022 ACA Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series events (Big Bass Bash, Open, Rumble, and Championship).

2nd Tie-breaker: The university/college bass fishing club that fished the greatest number of ACA Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series events.

3rd Tie-breaker: The university/college bass fishing club with the greatest number of points in the ACA BoatUS Championship.

Questions

If you have questions regarding the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year program, please contact the ACA at: College@CarecoTV.com.

The ACA Director of Operations has any and all say in final point allocations towards the Bass Pro Shops School of Year Race.