Intercollegiate fishing has grown markedly in recent years, but it's still sometimes easier to describe Drury University's bass fishing team with an analogy from a different sport.
"I'd say we're like the Ohio State (football) of college fishing," joked coach Rick Emmitt, whose work at Drury has swiftly turned the fishing Panthers into a national power. "Not quite at that Georgia or Alabama level yet."
The private Springfield school regularly finishes near the top of the Association of Collegiate Anglers standings, often ahead of such recognizable institutions as Alabama, Louisiana State, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.
Drury, which won a Major League Fishing national title in 2021 behind the efforts of Cameron Smith (Nixa) and Cole Breeden (Lebanon), carries the rod for the southern Midwest.