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By JAMON SMITH | Special to the Reporter

MONTEVALLO – For the second year back-to-back, the University of Montevallo fishing team was named the Major League Fishing (MLF) National School of the Year.

UM Head Fishing Coach William Crawford said the fishing team, which is part of the UM President’s Outdoor Scholars Program, beat out 176 schools to win the coveted honor.

“We’re the only school in MLF college history to win it back-to-back years,” he said.

The achievement is even more significant considering that the fishing team was named School of the Year for the second consecutive time in May after scoring more points than 200 other collegiate fishing teams in the Bass Pro Shops 2022 BoatUS Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship tournament.

Of the three different fishing circuits the team competes in—MFL, Bassmaster and Collegiate Bass—Montevallo is the back-to-back National School of the Year in two of them.

“Any time you can win a championship it’s always a great accomplishment,” Crawford said. “We got a great group of guys and a very talented roster. I’m very happy that their hard work has paid off.”

The team earned the title by scoring a total of 2,312 points for the season, which consisted of four tournaments—three regional events and one open. UM edged out the second-highest-scoring team, McKendree University, by four points.

The award for earning the title was a check for $10,000 provided by QuickTrip, which sponsored the MLF fishing tournament.

Crawford said the money will be used to cover expenses for next year’s season.