Each team of two anglers will roam the waters around Bemidji in search of a national title-winning haul.

A pair of hometown teams representing Bemidji State will be in the field, the largest the event has ever had. Brothers Mitch and Thor Swanson of Blaine qualified at the Lake of the Ozarks Midwest Regional in Missouri in March, while Luke Gillund of Ham Lake and Robby Troje of Hastings made the field after a second-place finish at the Bassmaster Wild Card Event in Alabama in June.

The event, which was first held in 2011, is being organized in conjunction with BSU and Visit Bemidji.

“This tournament puts a spotlight on the school,” said Mike Mulry, BSU engagement marketing director. “But more importantly, fishing and the outdoors in general has always been in BSU’s DNA. For us to have a tournament like this come really just validates what we’ve always known as far as being a lakeside campus, and the caliber of students that we have here obviously love the outdoors. This is just a really nice opportunity for us to showcase that.”

The lakeside campus was not the only attraction that worked in BSU’s favor.

“We always hear that northern Minnesota is nice in August,” said Hank Weldon, Bassmaster College series manager. “It seemed to match up logistically in our needs and it should be a nice time to get out of the heat for our some of our southern schools.”

BSU promotes itself as a fishing school, not only because of its proximity to Lake Bemidji, but also the hundreds of lakes located within a 25-mile drive of campus.

“Qualifying two teams for this national championship I think is evidence of the commitment that the team has put in,” Mulry said. “And in general, just bringing this tournament to Bemidji involved a lot of resources, a lot of commitment on behalf of BSU to be able to host the tournament itself.”

Anglers will launch from Paul Bunyan Park at 6 a.m. each day of the competition, beginning an eight-hour day of fishing. Teams will report back to the park for the day’s weigh-in at 2:30 p.m.

Lake Bemidji will be open to anglers, as will as any other body of water that teams can reach by boat from Lake Bemidji — for example, the Mississippi River or Lake Irving.

The team with the largest haul — five bass measuring at least 12 inches in length — from the tournament will be crowned national champion on Saturday, Aug. 12. ESPNU will provide tape-delayed coverage of the Aug. 12 championship weigh-in.

The top four teams will also advance to a College Bracket competition at a to-be-announced location Aug. 14-16. Individual anglers will go head-to-head for a single berth in the 2018 Bassmaster Classic, March 16-18, 2018, in Greenville, S.C.

2017 Bassmaster Classic champion Jordan Lee is proof that college anglers can go on to do bigger things at the next level. Before winning bass fishing’s biggest event, the former Auburn University angler won the College Bracket to qualify for the 2014 Bassmaster Classic.

“For the college students to have that opportunity to do that, it definitely is a huge thing,” Weldon said. “We’re seeing some high-level competition that happens within the college series. Not only anglers who can qualify and just go the Classic, but anglers who can qualify and possibly compete at winning at the Classic with the caliber of angler that now comes through the college series.”

Meet the Teams event set for Monday

The week begins Monday, Aug. 7, with a Meet the Teams event. All 90 teams will be present for photos and autographs at the 4-7 p.m. event, which will be held in the BSU Baseball Field parking lot.

The BSU fishing team will hold a fundraising barbecue at the event, and other giveaways and promotional items will be available from Bassmaster and participating partners.

A free Outdoors Expo will be held from 1-4:30 p.m. at Paul Bunyan Park on Friday, Aug. 11, and Saturday, Aug. 12. The expo will feature interactive displays by B.A.S.S. sponsors and giveaways. ESPNU will be filming for its coverage of the championship during the expo.