Baseball. Basketball. Bass Fishing.

FLW College Fishing has exploded in popularity over the past few years. While most of the hundreds of fishing teams across the country are clubs with varying affiliations with their respective schools, some colleges have elevated the sport to the varsity level, complete with coaches, recruiting and athletic-department oversight.

Adrian College of Adrian, Mich., is among them. School officials announced the addition of bass fishing to Adrian’s roster of fully funded varsity spots. A visit to the school’s athletic department’s website lists bass fishing right there alphabetically below baseball and basketball. It seems Adrian College is serious about bass fishing.

Earlier this year, the school hired Seth Borton, a Walmart Bass Fishing league angler, to serve as the team’s coach. His immediate job was to recruit 10 anglers for the inaugural bass fishing team. Like coaches in other sports, he began his search for standouts at the high school level.

“I looked at the results from FLW High School Fishing events because I was looking for anglers who already had experience in tournament fishing and also for those who have had success,” says Borton.

In addition to recruiting, he coaches the team on situations they could encounter on the water.

“We focus on everything about fishing techniques, but also on things like electronics, boat operation, safety and equipment maintenance,” he adds.

Adrian College also has two brand-new Ranger boats with Mercury outboards that the Bulldogs’ fishing team will use for FLW College Fishing events during the upcoming season. The Ranger Z118C boats are cloaked in black and yellow, the school’s colors, and feature the school’s name and logo in the wrap design.

“The school officials were on board and saw this as a great recruiting tool and another way to get our name out there,” Borton says about the boat and wrap. “For a small school like Adrian, the media coverage from FLW College Fishing events will make a huge impact. In my opinion, the exposure for Adrian will be much bigger than it would be for a school that already has a big athletic presence or name recognition. It really levels the playing field, because whether it is Division I or Division III [like Adrian], we both send out our best team, and we can compete with them in bass fishing.”

So far, the formation of a varsity bass fishing team at Adrian College has been a success, and next season the fishing world will get to see how the Bulldogs perform on the water.

“The kids who are on our team are without a doubt enrolled here because of the bass fishing team,” says Borton. “We have top-notch facilities and great academic programs already, and now with the bass team we have even more to offer.”

For more information about Adrian College, visit Adrian.edu, or check out the school’s sports programs at AdrianBulldogs.com.