According to Jason Founds, founder and president of OSU Bass Fishers Club, collegiate bass fishing is here to stay. Two years ago, in January of 2008, Founds was watching teams from other Big 10 schools compete in televised bass fishing competitions. He decided that The Ohio State University should be among them. He posted an online search for OSU students interested in joining, and for an OSU faculty member who would be willing to sponsor the club. Within 24 hours he had responses from 15 interested students and two potential advisors. By the end of the week, Founds wrote a constitution and bylaws, oversaw the selection of officers, and settled on an advisor. OSU Bass Fishers was born.
FLW Collegiate Bass Fishing Tournaments
Founds, already an experienced fisherman, bought a bass boat and found a couple of other students who also owned boats. They were ready to enter tournaments. OSU Bass Fishers were competitive from the start. In 2009, they won 4th place in an FLW tournament, bringing home a prize of $1500 for the club, with a matching award for the university’s general scholarship fund. The team moved on to capture 3rd place in the Central Regional Championship, winning an additional $5000 and bringing total winnings to $6500 each for the club and for the university.
Forty boats with teams of two fishermen compete in FLW Collegiate Tournaments. Schools may enter more than one boat, and OSU hopes to have at least a couple in this year’s tournament. Stakes are high. The first place winning team receives a cash prize of $25,000 for the club, a brand-new Ranger bass boat vinyl-wrapped in the school colors and logo, worth $25,000, and $50,000 for the school, for a total prize value of $100,000.
OSU Bass Club members are already planning for their next tournament, to be held on North Carolina’s Mountain Island Lake the last weekend in March. “They moved us to the Northern Region from Central Region last year,” said Founds. “After ice-out in Ohio, we don’t have enough time to hold qualifying events. The four guys who fished last year have experience, so they’ll be going back.”
Future of OSU Bass Fishers Club
Club members want to be beneficial to the university and to the fishing community. They are eager to assist with projects such as river clean-ups, and they have plans to put together a scholarship for incoming freshmen fishermen.
A senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering, Founds will be leaving the university this year. However, he is confident that the club he founded will continue to flourish. He says, “The competitive side of collegiate bass fishing is increasing at a feverish pace. It’s definitely here to stay. I received 12 emails from perspective new members today.” The OSU Bass Fishers Club is definitely making a splash in the world of competitive collegiate bass fishing.
Brenda Layman - I grew up in eastern Kentucky in a family that hunted, fished, hiked, and camped regularly. Although I moved to Ohio to become a teacher ...
Join the Conversation