Tyler Cory and his family have been fishing for as long as he can remember — the Amherst, Wisconsin, native enjoys getting to spend time in nature while competing in the sport. He earned the Bassmaster High School All-American honor in high school, which led to his recruitment for UM’s champion fishing team by William Crawford, director of the Outdoor Scholars Program.
“Being from Wisconsin, I had never heard of Montevallo,” the recent UM graduate said. “I didn’t even really plan on going to a four-year college. A handful of fishing teams reached out and offered me scholarships, but this was by far the school where the scholarship offset the most of my tuition.”
As a first-generation college student, he depended heavily on scholarships to help him pay for school. He received the Outdoor Scholars Scholarship, the David E. Crawford Memorial Scholarship, an academic recognition scholarship and an out-of-state scholarship, which puts non-resident students at the in-state tuition rate.
“If it wasn’t for scholarships, I wouldn’t be here,” he said. “I didn’t come from a family with a bunch of money — they provided me a lot of great opportunities as a kid growing up, but I’ve had to pay for the majority of this on my own. Scholarships and being able to work a job while studying has given me the opportunity to continue pursuing my education.”
Cory graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing in May.
“I know some people in the fishing industry, and they all told me that marketing is your best way in,” he said. “If you want to pursue professional fishing as a career, knowing how to market yourself is the biggest deal as far as getting sponsors, keeping brands happy and working with different partners.”
Cory looks back on his time as a Montevallo Falcon fondly, especially the moment when the fishing team won the Bass Pro Shops School of the Year presented by Abu Garcia title for the second time in 2022.
“It’s what we’d worked for the whole season as a team and to be there when they handed us the trophy was so fulfilling” he said.
