The American Cornhole League (ACL) is the sanctioning body for the sport of professional
cornhole
Cornhole (also known regionally as sack toss, or bags) is a lawn game popular in North America in which players or teams take turns throwing fabric bean bags at a raised, angled board with a hole in its far end. The goal of the game is to score ...
in the
United States and is the originator of competitive cornhole.
Headquartered in
Rock Hill, SC, the ACL hosts over 25,000 tournaments per year and has an active player base of over 100,000 players.
The current record for highest points scored in a single season is held by Najee Lebde.
The ACL features a group of professional cornhole players each season that compete on television broadcasts (network partners include
ESPN and
CBS).
These players are referred to as ACL Pros.
The ACL is majority owned by ACL Commissioner Stacey Moore. In 2021, the ACL introduced its first outside investors of Asland Capital Partners and
John Thompson III
John Robert Thompson III (born March 11, 1966) is the assistant coach for the United States men's national basketball team since 2017. He previously served as the head coach of the men's basketball team at Georgetown University. He grew up in Wa ...
.
History
The ACL was founded in 2015 by ACL Commissioner Stacey Moore.
Part of the standardization of equipment for the league was rooted in its proprietary ACL Bag Policy which standardized the cornhole bag for competitive play and the league's partnership with AllCornhole for officially licensed ACL Pro cornhole boards. The league debuted its first championship event in 2016, named the Championship of Bags, which aired on
ESPN3
ESPN3 (formerly ESPN360 and ESPN3.com) is an online streaming service owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which operates the network, through its 80% controlling ownership interest) and Hearst Communications ...
.
One year later, the ACL appeared on television for the first time, airing its 2017 Championships of Bags on
ESPN2 on the back of its first ESPN deal.
At the conclusion of the 2019 season, the ACL created a non-profit governing body for the sport in the
United States called USA Cornhole, with the idea of making cornhole an Olympic Sport.
In 2020 amid the
COVID-19 pandemic, the ACL aired on ESPN networks for six straight weeks, propelling exponential growth for the league and sport.
In 2021, the ACL signed a network contract with CBS Sports and introduced a new ACL Pro Shootout Series.
At the end of 2021, ACL launched the
Free ad-supported streaming television channel ACL Cornhole TV in partnership with Triple-B Media.
Divisions
The two main divisions of the American Cornhole League are the Pro Division and Open Division. Pro Division tournaments are specifically reserved for ACL Pros. Open Division tournaments are open to all ACL members and to the general public. Both divisions span the length of the ACL season which runs October through August each year.
[{{Cite web , title=Leagues and Governing Bodies , url=https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2020/10/19/Leagues-and-Governing-Bodies.aspx , access-date=2022-07-29 , website=www.sportsbusinessjournal.com , language=en]
References
Sports leagues in the United States
Lawn games