"Everything I learned about life, I learned from collegiate bass fishing."

Okay, there isn't such a title yet, but perhaps there could be because the implication certainly seems to have merit when given some thought.

Fact is, the 200 college student anglers converging on Lake Lewisville near Dallas, Sept. 24-29, to compete in the second annual BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship are likely to find the experience somewhat like getting an advanced class in responsibility, decision-making, rule-following, teamwork, leadership and fair play.

Since some will be driving and towing boats from as far away as Oregon, Virginia and Florida, map reading and safe driving could probably also be added to the list of subjects.

But this excursion isn't about the "road trip" of college lore; it's more about what happens once at their destination. Last year's participants in the inaugural event proved that to be the case. They come to Lewisville focused, prepared and ready to take care of business.

The teams from North Carolina State want to repeat as champions. The Stephen F. Austin teams intend to prove their No. 1 ranking is legit. The Virginia Tech teams want to show their school's mettle in the wake of the horrendous campus tragedy of only a few months ago. Every team wants to claim the prestigious championship title and take the trophy back to their school.

Overseeing the students to and from the event, and taking care of them while in Lewisville, isn_t by chance. In fact, tournament officials and event sponsors are going well beyond normal bounds of involvement to assure responsible participation.

"We want this event to be a highlight of these kids' college experience," said Mike Pellerin, director of title sponsor BoatU.S. Angler, which is part of the nation's largest boating advocacy group, BoatU.S. "So one of the things we are doing to make it a worry-free experience is offering every contender a complimentary one-year membership in our BoatU.S. Inland Angler Plus program.

"What that means is every competitor who signs up will have 24-hour roadside assistance for tow vehicle and boat trailer should any problems occur during travel. The same is also true while they're on the water. Aside from the many other benefits of the Angler membership, the one-phone-call-fixes-all service should be a great comfort to participants and their parents," he added.

The NCBFC tournament director, Wade Middleton, says safety is a big part of the championship event. "Many of our rules are all about safety," he said. "For example, we require every participant in a boat and on the water to wear a Stearns inflatable life jacket throughout practice and competition days. The life jackets are provided by the Boat.U.S. Foundation."

The NCBFC rule is more stringent than what is typical of most bass tournaments, which often only require a personal flotation device (PFD) be worn and fastened during operation of the boat's big motor. U.S. Coast Guard approved inflatable life jackets have been an acceptable form of PFD since 1996.

"Now is the perfect time to get college-aged anglers into the habit of wearing the comfortable, easy-to-fish-with-on, inflatable PFDs anytime they're in a boat," said Mary Snyder, marketing manager for Stearns, one of the industry's oldest and most respected names in the life jacket business.

Many states require life jackets to be worn by children under a certain age. In states without such regulations, the U.S. Coast Guard mandates life jacket compliance for all children under age 13 while on boats underway on Federal waters. It is recommended that boaters of all ages wear PFDs.

"Four out of every five drowning deaths involve boats less than 20 feet in length," said Chris Edmonston, boating safety director of the BoatU.S. Foundation. "That's the size boat many of these collegiate anglers own or have access to. We want them to leave this event safe and sound, and as our greatest ambassadors for responsible boating."

The NCBFC was created by Fox College Sports. The network will air a 13-episode television series starting in January 2008, featuring coverage from the championship and a behind-the-scenes look at many of the participants and their schools.

By tournament time, the 2007 NCBFC field is expected to consist of 100 two-person teams representing 50 schools from across the country. More than $35,000 in scholarship money and prizes will be awarded among the top 10 teams.

Each team competes against all others during the first two days of competition, Sept. 27-28. After that, only the top five teams advance to the third and final day of competition. The finalists compete from special edition 40th anniversary Ranger Z-21 bass boats rigged identically with Yamaha outboards, Garmin electronics and Minn Kota trolling motors.

Weigh-ins take place each tournament day at Sneaky Pete's Marina and are open to the public. Results will also be posted daily at the official site of the NCBFC, www.foxsports.com/fcs/bass, as well as at the official sponsor site for the tournament, www.collegiatebasschampionship.com.

The NCBFC is sponsored by BoatU.S., BoatU.S. Angler, Cabela's, Ranger Boats, Yamaha, Garmin, Costa Del Mar, Pioneer Beef Jerky, EGO Nets, Sebile, American Rodsmiths, Aviva Fishin_ Buddy, Biosonix, Bill Lewis Lures, Gene Larew Lures, Nemire Lures, Keelshield, Minn Kota, Sperry Top-Sider, Power Pole, City of Lewisville, Sneaky Pete's Marina, the Collegiate Bass Anglers Association and Fox College Sports.

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About Fox College Sports
FCS is three nationally distributed college sports networks (FCS Pacific, FCS Central, and FCS Atlantic) stocked with premium collegiate programming from across the country. FCS features men's and women's competitions across a broad range of NCAA-sanctioned sports highlighted by perennial powers from the ACC, Big 12, Pac 10, SEC, as well as other top conferences. The three networks combine to telecast more than 800 live NCAA events over the course of a year. Based on current distribution agreements, FCS is available to approximately 52 million digital homes, and is seen by viewers in the nation's 25 largest cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas and Atlanta, Houston, Seattle, Minneapolis and Tampa. Key MSO partners include Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Charter Communications, Cox Communications, Cablevision Systems, Adelphia Communications, Mediacom Communications, Insight Communications and CableOne and the National Cable Television Cooperative. The most up-to-date telecast schedule is available 24/7 by logging on to www.foxcollegesports.com