What's Next at Colleges: The Bass Bowl?

On a recent afternoon, Jacob Nummy, a just-graduated 23-year-old political science major, picked up a few career tips he didn’t get during his classes on the workings of bicameralism or the separation of powers. Use rock salt to calm your fish for the weigh-in, veteran professional angler Mark Menendez solemnly advised. Pour Coca-Cola on a bass that bleeds. And lose the facial hair; corporations don’t like it. “Sponsorship is about what you can do for them,” he told Nummy and the other young fishermen gathered in the Yamaha Motor tent at the Carhartt Bassmaster College National Series Championship near Lake Chatuge in Georgia. “It’s about selling. They want a cleanshaven face. They want your shirts tucked in.”