SFC Explained: Angling Clubs
Confused by some of the jargon? SFC Insider helps make sense of the terminology in the league's lexicon
Sports terminology can sure be quirky. Some words and phrases are pretty mainstream now and can be used for endless real-life situations and scenarios. The Stanley Cup Playoffs have kicked off so some hockey terms may come to mind. Phrases such as “shorthanded,” “power play,” “line change” etc.
The NFL Draft was just last week and a lot was made about no. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, the Miami Hurricanes QB joining SFC’s The Catch All-Star and East Pass Challenge studio guest Jeffery Simmons with the Tennessee Titans. “First-rounder’s,” “UDFA’s” (undrafted free agents) and “Mr. Irrelevant” fill social media feeds and headlines.
SFC is no different with jargon and nomenclature, so it felt like a good idea as your SFC Insider to do my due diligence and help make sense of what you’ve already heard a lot about on SFC socials, articles and broadcast between SFC+ & ESPN+
Let’s start with the obvious one shall we?
Angling Club
Let’s go back to the beginning of this concept, first announced in September 2024 prior to the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs. “Angling Clubs” are chartered organizations that are sanctioned to compete under SFC as the league. That’s the same concept used by the NBA with 30 teams, and 32 teams in the NFL, NHL and MLB.
What those league’s call “teams,” SFC calls “Angling Clubs.” There are 14 Angling Clubs, and like those other professional teams, SFC Angling Clubs represent specific regional territories. Some of those Angling Club territories are pretty straightforward: New York Granders, New Jersey Sea Birds, Louisiana Canyons, Mississippi Blues, South Carolina Outcast, North Carolina Flare, Alabama Angling Club. Those all represent the namesake U.S. states.
Some territories are a little broader, and some are a little more specific: Lights Out New England represents Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. East Coast Remix, South Florida Sails, West Florida Black Flags and Gulf Coast Cowboys each have a slice of Florida. Texas Lone Stars and Third Coast Renegades split Texas.
Who Represents These Angling Clubs?
Ready for a curveball (speaking of other sports terminology)? Teams represent Angling Clubs. Fishing teams compete all over the place in multiple tournaments and disciplines, but those teams are named after their boats, not their hometowns or states: Taylor Jean, Lifeline, Renegade, Lust Lookin, Get Lit, Rising Sons, Sails Pitch, etc.
The chartered Angling Clubs are owned by groups of people. Investors, star athletes including Scottie Scheffler, Raheem Mostert, Austin Dillon, Talor Gooch, Harold Varner III, and celebrities such as country music star Brian Kelley.
In some cases, the sportfishing teams are part of the club’s ownership group and are included directly in the club name, think East Coast Remix Angling Club (Remix Sportfishing) and Lights Out New England Angling Club (Lights Out Sportfishing). Some examples aren’t as obvious, such as Gulf Coast Cowboys Angling Club, which is co-owned by Brian Kelley and Dino & Lori McDowell of Lifeline Sportfishing.
Fans will remember Lifeline as the 2024 SFC Champions, when the league operated under an “open” format for competition before the formation of Angling Clubs.
Other Angling Clubs contract sportfishing teams to compete under their banner, for example Mississippi Blues signing Rising Sons team, North Carolina Flare with Sails Pitch, and West Florida Black Flags with Miss Maysen.
Hopefully that clears things up a little bit.