2025 Marks 20 Straight Seasons as Yamaha Outboards Extends Support of College Fishing

San Antonio, TX (April 17, 2025) – The Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA), along with the Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, is proud to announce their renewed partnership with Yamaha Outboards. The 2025 season will mark the 20^th straight year in which Yamaha Outboards has supported anglers competing in ACA ran events.

The 2025 partnership will include the Yamaha Power Pay Contingency Program being available at all ACA ran events, presenting sponsor of the All-Academic Team presented by Yamaha, as well as extensive promotion of Yamaha Marine products, including at the 2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at Lake Hartwell.

“Yamaha is very honored to be a part of the ACA for our 20th year of sponsorship. College bass fishing has come so far in this time from its early days and humble beginnings. Today the participation is sometimes overwhelming when you attend the events and see how many young anglers are pursuing their dreams,” said Scott Higgins, Marketing Division Manager-Yamaha Outboards.  “We are even more pleased with the announcement of the ACA All-Academic Team. This is a great way to reward student anglers that are doing a good job of keeping their studies at a high level and fishing with the college teams. Yamaha wishes all the student anglers the best in their college studies and competitive fishing pursuits.”

Power Pay is a contingency program designed exclusively for tournament anglers who own, and run, a Yamaha outboard motor on their boat.  All you have to do is register, participate in a contingency paying tournament, and post the highest placing finish of those who have registered for the Yamaha Power Pay Program and win up to $2,000.  The premier tournament contingency will be available at all ACA major events.  All eligible college anglers competing in ACA ran events are encouraged to sign up for this top-notch tournament contingency program.

In 2023, Yamaha Power Pay exceeded $1,000,000 in total payouts awarded.  “As the Yamaha Power Pay program reaches this incredible milestone of $1 million in payouts, we would like to thank our angler customers for their loyalty to the Yamaha brand,” said Connor Megan, Pro Staff and Sponsorship Supervisor, Yamaha Marine Engine Systems. “We plan to continue the Power Pay momentum by adding more events and bigger payouts. Yamaha outboard owners enrolled in the program will have more opportunities than ever before to earn money through Power Pay!”

“As the ACA celebrates its 20^th anniversary, it’s great to have Yamaha as a series partner for 20 straight seasons,” explained Wade Middleton, ACA Director and President of CarecoTV.  “The support that Yamaha offers to these collegiate tournament anglers is unwavering.  Also, with Yamaha Power Pay now exceeding $1,000,000 in total payouts, there are even more ways for anglers to run a Yamaha outboard and earn extra money for great finishes.”

New for the 2024-25 school year, the ACA announced the creation of the All-Academic Team presented by Yamaha.  This is an honor designed to reward student anglers for going above and beyond in the classroom.  Three anglers will be recognized at each ACA major event, with an Academic All-American presented by Yamaha being named at the 2025 ACA National Championship.  With presenting sponsorship of the All-Academic Team presented by Yamaha, in partnership with the ACA, Yamaha will be awarding scholarships to each of the 12 recipients.  Yamaha representatives will be on-site at the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship to honor the 2024-25 Academic All-American, which will include additional scholarship rewards.  To learn more about the All-Academic Team presented by Yamaha, click here.

During the 2025 season, in partnership with Yamaha Outboards, the Collegiate Bass Fishing Series will be awarding the Yamaha Contingency Bonus Program at three events.  Those three events are: Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops, AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open, and the Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley.  A total of $1,000 in contingencies will be available at each event, with the tournament winner or highest-finishing eligible team being awarded the prize.  Find out more about the Yamaha Contingency Bonus Program here.

The Association of Collegiate Anglers (ACA) is a division of CarecoTV that was created twenty years ago to facilitate growth, development, and structure within competitive collegiate bass fishing, with emphasis on competitive fishing events nationwide. The ACA created the original BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship which has now evolved into the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, which is now recognized as the longest-running consecutive collegiate bass fishing series in existence.  The ACA has also created various other programs such as the Collegiate School of the Year Rankings system, College Bass Fishing Open, Collegiate Big Bass Bash and the College Bass Fishing Springtime Slam.

The ACA lineup of major college fishing events includes a variety of nationwide tournaments that are multi-day tournaments, all of which are televised and streamed on several networks, as well as streamed on a variety of connected platforms.  These major events have no entry fees and no membership costs associated with them. The ACA also provides support to numerous schools operating regional events nationwide which is an effort to provide more opportunities to grow the exposure and awareness of college fishing.

The ACA owns the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, Bass Pro Shops School of Year presented by Abu Garcia program, and associated assets which is widely regarded as the most comprehensive and prestigious collegiate bass fishing title today.

Thanks in part to the large diversity of media exposure the ACA provides, the series boasts the largest amount of televised and streaming coverage of any collegiate fishing series. This includes a dedicated television series on numerous television networks and streaming platforms, as well as additional coverage of select events inside other programs.

This combination includes coverage from national and regional television networks as well as being streamed online on various apps and connected devices. You can also find coverage via video on demand online at any time of past events thanks to coverage on OutdoorActionTV.com and PursuitUp.com

For more information on the ACA or the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, visit www.CollegiateBassChampionship.com.

 For more information on CarecoTV, visit www.CarecoTV.com

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