The Association of Collegiate Anglers Announces the Schedule for its 20th Season in 2025
SAN ANTONIO, TX (April 10, 2024) – In 2025, the Association of Collegiate Anglers will celebrate its 20th season of hosting major collegiate bass fishing tournaments. What first started with an approximately 50 boat field at the National Championship event on Lake Lewisville in 2006, almost 20 years later has grown into a robust tournament circuit featuring four major events each year, a robust National Rankings system with the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia program, support for numerous small school-run events, as well as programs to help college anglers gain access to products to go fishing.
Every major ACA no-entry-fee event features a total prize payout of more than $20,000 in prizes and contingencies, as well as double points, with media coverage on a variety of streaming platforms, live coverage, social media promotions and is nationally televised on several networks. The ACA is excited to announce its complete tournament schedule for 2025 which will be a celebration of providing 20 years of non-stop support to growing fishing through collegiate fishing.
Here is a look at the complete schedule of 2025 Major Events:
2025 Pickwick Slam
April 5-6, 2025 – Pickwick Lake | Florence, AL
2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops
May 22-23, 2025 – Lake Hartwell | Anderson, SC
2025 Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley
September 20-21, 2025 – Kentucky Lake | Henry County & Paris, TN
2025 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open
October 11-12, 2025 – Lake Dardanelle | Russellville, AR
*Tournament dates are subject to change
The 2025 majors will kick off at Pickwick Lake in Florence, AL with the Pickwick Slam. This event will be a traditional five-bass limit format in which hundreds of the top student anglers in the country will be competing for valuable prizes, contingencies, and double points towards the 2024-2025 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. The Pickwick Slam is the final ACA double points event of the 2024-25 season before the year-end Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. Teams will be vying for valuable points as they position themselves for a stretch run to end the year in the coveted Top 25, or even finish the season ranked number one. The event will be hosted in Florence, AL and held out of McFarland Park, which hosted the 2024 ACA Championship.
In 2025, the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops will return to Lake Hartwell in Anderson, SC. College fishing’s longest-running National Championship marks the end of the season out on the Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series, and is the final points-earning opportunity for the 2024-2025 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. The 2025 Championship will be held at Green Pond Landing in Anderson, SC on the shores of Lake Hartwell.
Then, to kick-off the 2025-26 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia race, the ACA will return to Kentucky Lake in Henry County and Paris, TN with the popular Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley. Featuring a two-day big bass format event that pays out 80 places, with a total purse valued at over $35,000, the Big Bass Bash is the ACA’s longest-tenured regular-season event on the schedule. Schools will be driving from across the country to descend upon Henry County to vie for prizes and valuable double points for the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. In 2024, a record-breaking field of close to 600 anglers competed at the event.
The final major ACA event on the calendar for 2025 will be the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open on Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, AR. Anglers are always filled with excitement and anticipation to arrive in Russellville, AR. The event will boast a total payout of over $20,000 in prizes and contingencies, and teams will be able to earn double points towards the 2025-2026 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. This fall event has grown into one of the most contested and highly attended events on the college fishing scene. In 2024, the AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open saw record attendance for this event. Nearly 250 teams from all across the country travelled to Russellville, AR to compete at Lake Dardanelle that weekend.
In 2025, teams will again be able to earn automatic qualification into the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops via top finishes at ACA regular season events. Anglers finishing in the Top 15 at the 2025 Pickwick Slam will qualify to compete in the 2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. The Top 10 finishing anglers at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley will earn a spot in the 2026 ACA National Championship. The Top 10 finishing anglers/teams at the 2025 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open will also earn automatic qualification into the year-end tournament in 2026. Stay tuned for additional details on this and other incentives for each event.
The 20th season in 2025 promises to be another great year out on the collegiate trail as the Association of Collegiate Anglers competes at several of the top fisheries in the nation. Stay up to date on all things college fishing to see additional announcements in the future, as well as learn about exciting new programs and ways to promote & grow college fishing!
