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October 21, 2006

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North Carolina State wins BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship
Eastern Kentucky takes 2nd place
Oklahoma State University finishes in 3rd place

North Carolina State left no doubt as to the winner of the inaugural BoatU.S National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship, as they dominated the other schools on the final day with a solid five-fish limit that weighed 13.57 pounds. The winning team members for North Carolina State, Christopher Craven and Alexander Freeman, used a variety of baits while keying on windy, rocky and timber-filled banks to target aggressive fish.

Both anglers said they fished to win today and that without the assistance of their club "The North Carolina Bass Pack" and faculty advisor Jonathan Phillips, none of this would have been possible. They also went on to thank Ranger Boats and Ron Enslen for their support. In addition they said a big key to their win was sponsors Secret Weapons Lures and J.B. Custom Rods. The North Carolina State team won $12,000 in scholarship funds with the win.

The Eastern Kentucky University team of Michael Blanton and Andrew Luxon took an early lead with a limit that topped the scales at 8.75 pounds, but the two eventually had to settle for 2nd place and $6,000 in scholarships for their catch. They said they keyed on a deeper bite much of the day while fishing several locations to get their limit but never did get that big kicker bite to give them the chance at the win. They thanked FOX College Sports and all the sponsors while on stage, saying this was the best event they had ever fished and they couldn't wait for next year.

Oklahoma State University (OSU) was the last team to take the stage and after dominating the field the first two days, it was apparent the North Carolina State team was worried. OSU's James Elam and Brandon Pedigo were confident going into the final round but high winds blew into their key area and with cameras rolling to capture the action they just couldn't get the bites they had hoped to with the waves literally breaking over the bow of their boat on some casts. The end result was a third place finish and $4,000 in scholarship winnings.

Rounding out the top five were two Northwestern State University teams who qualified in 3rd and 5th, respectively, after two days, before settling in at 4th and 5th overall on the final day. Both teams had been keying on shallow aggressive fish using lipless crankbaits and other fast moving baits. Fourth and 5th place teams were awarded scholarship monies as well for their efforts.

The event format had schools from across the nation sending in two-person teams to compete for two days for an overall cumulative weight. After two days, the top five schools/teams competed on one final day of the event for the title and scholarships. To add to the excitement on the final day, each team competed out of a fully rigged Ranger Boats Z-19s, powered by Evinrude outboards and rigged with Garmin electronics, Minn Kota trolling motors and Keelshields.

During the event, plans were announced for the 2007 championship along with regional events across the nation to support the growth of collegiate bass fishing. In addition, FOX College sports will be launching an entire television series in 2007 dedicated to collegiate bass fishing complete with campus visits, behind-the-scenes stories, tournament action from the event, and insight from F.L.W. and B.A.S.S. professionals like Luke Clausen, Jeff Kriet and Kelly Jordon. The show will be hosted by Wade Middleton.

Final 2006 Standings
North Carolina State University	Christoper Craven Alexander Freeman	13.57
Eastern Kentucky University	Michael Blanton Andrew Luxon	8.75
Oklahoma State University	James Elam Brandon Pedigo	4.66
Northwestern State University	Jarred Williams Ryan Wiggins	3.86
Northwestern State University	Kevin Jeane Jonathan Bennett	3.55

Additional sponsors of the BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship include: FOX College Sports, Cabelas, Garmin, Ranger Boats, Evinrude, , Anglers Legacy Program, Keelshield, YoZuri, SebileUSA, Minn-Kota, Costa Del Mar, Nemire Lures, Stearns, American Rodsmith, City of Lewisville and Sneaky Pete's.

Fox College Sports: FCS is three channels stocked with select collegiate programming culled from FSN regional sports networks and its affiliates. 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. Fox provides all three channels: FCS Pacific, FCS Central and FCS Atlantic throughout the country. Each Fox College Sports viewer also continues to receive their own local professional and college sports programming courtesy of their Fox Sports Net or affiliated regional sports network. Based on current distribution agreements, FCS is available to approximately 45 to 50 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.

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