2010 Collegiate Bass Fishing Open Presented by Pepsi

Collegiate anglers throughout the country may begin registering online for the 2010 Collegiate Bass Fishing Open presented by Pepsi on Thursday, April 1. This unique, new event, scheduled for June 21-25 at Kentucky Lake in Paris, Tennessee is part of the BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series and is open to all eligible collegiate anglers nationwide.

A team may consist of up to 6 anglers and 3 boats and there's no limit to the number of teams that can participate. The full field will compete both days. Winners will be determined by the combined weight of each team's two heaviest boat weights each day. For clubs that are only able to send 1 boat, the single boat weight will be doubled each day. Numerous prizes and awards will be made to the top finishers. Complete rules can be found here.

"We are excited to be the host of the inaugural Collegiate Bass Fishing Open presented by Pepsi on Kentucky Lake," said Carl Holder of the Henry County Alliance Tourism Initiative. "It is our hope to establish Paris Landing State Park as the permanent venue for this tournament, making it an annual event. We feel this is a great partnership that combines the Association of Collegiate Anglers' extensive experience organizing collegiate bass tournaments with our expertise serving as the host of major, highly successful events."

"Pepsi has been a longstanding supporter of bass fishing and we're pleased to extend that support to the collegiate level through this event," said Adrian Blanco, senior sales manager, Pepsi-Cola North America Beverages. "We hope this championship will introduce more people to this exciting form of competition and the beauty of Paris Landing Park."

Extensive coverage of the event will be nationally televised on the Versus network from August -October 2010 as part of the BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series. The television series will also feature coverage of the Stephen F. Austin Bucketmouth Bass Tournament, Arkansas Tech University Invitational, Southern Collegiate Bass Fishing Series Championship and the BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship.

"This is our newest collegiate event and it's designed to allow more anglers to participate and experience the thrill of national competition," said Wade Middleton, Tournament Director. "We're looking forward to crowning the 2010 Open team champions and providing increased television coverage again this year. Since our humble beginning in 2006, the BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series has continued to grow at an amazing pace. The Open event will contribute greatly to the future growth of collegiate bass fishing and Pepsi's support will help make this a truly special event."

For more information about the 2010 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series, please visit www.CollegiateBassChampionship.com.

About Pepsi

Pepsi is a product of PepsiCo Beverages Americas (PBA). In addition to the Pepsi trademark, the PBA portfolio includes the Mountain Dew, Sierra Mist and Mug trademarks in the carbonated soft drink category. PBA is a division of PepsiCo, which offers the world's largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generates more than US$1 billion in annual retail sales. Our main businesses - Frito-Lay, Quaker, Pepsi-Cola, Tropicana and Gatorade - also make hundreds of other nourishing, tasty foods and drinks that bring joy to our consumers in More than 200 countries. With annualized revenues of nearly US$60 billion, PepsiCo's people are united by our unique commitment to sustainable growth, called Performance with Purpose. By dedicating ourselves to offering a broad array of choices for healthy, convenient and fun nourishment, reducing our environmental impact, and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, PepsiCo balances strong financial returns with giving back to our communities worldwide. In recognition of its continued sustainability efforts, PepsiCo was named for the third time to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and for the fourth time to the Dow Jones Sustainability North America Index (DJSI North America) in 2009. For more information, please visit www.pepsico.com.

Sponsors of the 2010 BoatU.S. Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship Series

BoatU.S., BoatU.S. Angler, Cabela's, Pepsi, Ranger, Rapala's Fishing Frenzy, Abu Garcia, Sperry Top-Sider, frogg toggs, Yamaha, Garmin, Berkley, Sebile, Lazer TroKar, Costa, Columbia Sportswear, All Star Rods, Big Bite Baits, Gemini Custom Apparel, Wohali, Angler's Legacy, The Bass Federation, City of Lewisville, Decatur Convention & Visitors Bureau, Henry County/Paris Landing, Russellville Chamber of Commerce, Sneaky Pete's, Sure Life.