Bass Pro Shops Named Title Sponsor of the 2024 Bassmaster Classic

The Bassmaster Classic has announced that outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops will be the title sponsor of the 2024 event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, from March 22–24, with competition taking place on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.

The tournament will feature 56 of the nation’s most talented anglers vying for more than $1 million in prize money. Last year’s Classic set an attendance record, with 163,914 fans visiting Knoxville, Tennessee. It won the SportsTravel Award for Best Professional Event at TEAMS ’23 in The Palm Beaches, Florida.

“We are very honored to partner with Bassmaster and serve as the title sponsor for the 2024 Bassmaster Classic,” said Johnny Morris, founder of Bass Pro Shops and a five-time Classic qualifier. “Some of my happiest memories in life were competing on the tournament trail and creating many special, lifelong friendships. I feel very blessed to have spent my entire life in and around the great sport of fishing and to have had the opportunity to serve fellow anglers. I am forever grateful to Ray Scott, for without him and his B.A.S.S. Tournament Trail, Bass Pro Shops would have never happened.”

The relationship between Bass Pro Shops and B.A.S.S. goes back more than 55 years. When Ray Scott created the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society in 1967, Morris was an early competitor in the events. Morris then started a tackle business out of his father’s liquor store in Springfield, Missouri, in 1972. As B.A.S.S. tournaments grew, so did Morris’ tackle business and he eventually created the first Bass Pro Shops catalog in 1974.

“This partnership is so meaningful to B.A.S.S. for so many reasons,” said Chase Anderson, chief executive officer of B.A.S.S. “Our organizations both helped build and define an industry while focusing on conservation, education and inspiration. We have shared values and both maintain a sharp focus on the future of our sport while celebrating the rich history of bass fishing. We look forward to celebrating together at the Classic with the rabid fans in attendance as a new champion is crowned.”

The Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by GSM Outdoors will also bee in Tulsa with more than 200 vendors at the Cox Business Convention Center, which will be open to the public.