MARSHALL – Aiming to establish themselves as the premier collegiate program for bass fishing in the United States, East Texas Baptist University is entering the bass fishing arena. ETBU will launch a fishing team this fall, backed by Skeeter Boats. This club sport, along with the support from Skeeter, will enable anglers to compete on […]
MARSHALL – Aiming to establish themselves as the premier collegiate program for bass fishing in the United States, East Texas Baptist University is entering the bass fishing arena.
ETBU will launch a fishing team this fall, backed by Skeeter Boats. This club sport, along with the support from Skeeter, will enable anglers to compete on the finest lakes in East Texas and across the nation using top-of-the-line boats.
“We are exploring ways to broaden our sports offerings for students who wish to attend the university, and bass fishing is gaining traction as a popular sport in high school and college across the country. There are more than 300 college angler teams nationally, and we wanted to join that movement,” stated ETBU President Dr. J. Blair Blackburn.
Skeeter, headquartered in Kilgore, has been a pioneer in high-performance fishing boats for over 65 years and is returning to its origins, where Holmes Thurman created the first bass boat in Marshall in 1948. Skeeter has been instrumental in shaping the bass fishing industry. For the past 13 consecutive years, they’ve also been acknowledged for “Excellence in Customer Satisfaction for Fiberglass Outdoor Boats.”
“We are thrilled to collaborate with East Texas Baptist University in their pursuit of introducing bass fishing at their esteemed institution, and most importantly, to help them fulfill their mission of being a Christ-centered higher education entity,” remarked Jeff Stone, senior vice president of Skeeter Boats. “Recently, we’ve witnessed a surge in the popularity of bass fishing at both the collegiate and high school levels, and we are incredibly proud to have ETBU as the first university we are sponsoring at Skeeter.”
Blackburn mentioned that the university will offer $5,000 scholarships each year to every team member. “We had been contemplating a partnership in bass fishing,” Blackburn explained, “recognizing our need for boats on the water and who we would collaborate with as it was clearly a divine connection. It came through Jeff Stone after I spoke at First Baptist in Longview, where he was present, and he reached out to me, establishing a connection through our mutual acquaintances… Jeff has a deep faith in God and is a strong Christian, believing in our cause and that we will utilize bass fishing as a means for outreach and ministry.”
Students who are interested in joining the team can reach out to Dr. Blackburn or call (903) 923-2222.
