Association of Collegiate Anglers Announces 2024 Majors Event Schedule
SAN ANTONIO, TX (May 25, 2023) – 2024 will mark the 19th season of college fishing’s longest-running collegiate bass fishing tournament trail. The Bass Pro Shops Collegiate Bass Fishing Series will host three major regular-season events and the season-ending Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops.
Here is a look at the complete schedule* of 2024 Major Events:
2024 Hartwell Slam
April 13-14, 2024 – Lake Hartwell | Anderson, SC
2024 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops
May 23-24, 2024 – Pickwick Lake | Florence, AL
2024 Bass Pro Shops Big Bass Bash presented by Berkley
September 21-22, 2024 – Kentucky Lake | Henry County & Paris, TN
2024 AFTCO Collegiate Bass Open
October 12-13, 2024 – Lake Dardanelle | Russellville, AR
*Tournament dates are subject to change
The 2024 majors will kick off at Lake Hartwell | Anderson, SC with the Hartwell 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 2023-2024 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. The April timeframe of this event will be during one of the best windows of the year to go bass fishing on Lake Hartwell, and anglers will be catching fish in all phases of the spawn. The event will be hosted by Visit Anderson and held out of Green Pond Landing, which hosted the 2023 ACA Championship.
In 2024, the Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops will return to Pickwick Lake and Florence, AL. 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 2023-2024 Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia. The 2024 Championship will be held at McFarland Park in Florence, AL on the shores of Pickwick Lake, and will feature extensive media coverage as the fans have grown accustomed to seeing at the Championship.
Then, to kick-off the 2024-2025 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.
The final major ACA event on the calendar for 2024 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 where teams will be able to earn double points towards the 2024-2025 Bass Pro Shops
School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia at this event. This fall event has grown into one of the most contested and highly attended events on the college fishing scene.
The Top 10 finishing anglers/teams at each of these ACA major events will automatically qualify for the coinciding Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. Anglers finishing in the Top 10 at the Hartwell Slam will qualify to compete in the 2024 ACA Championship. Those that finish in the Top 10 at either of the fall 2024 ACA majors will earn a spot to compete in the 2025 Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops. Stay tuned for additional details on this and other incentives for each event.
The 2024 season 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 and you can expect additional announcements in the future on exciting new programs and ways to promote and grow college fishing, so stay tuned. #WeAreCollegiateBass
