The American Cornhole League (ACL) is one of the sanctioning bodies for the sport of professional cornhole in the United States.[1] 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.[2]
The ACL features a group of professional cornhole players each season that compete on television broadcasts (network partners include ESPN[3] and CBS).[4] These players are referred to as ACL Pros.[5] [6] [7]
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.[8] [9]
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[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13]
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.[14]
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.[15] [16]
The American Cornhole League has specific rules on how they work tournaments. Some of these rules are what kinds of bags and boards that can be used. Both boards and bags have to be stamped with the ACL logo on it to be considered regulation. With having the stamp put on it shows the bags and boards are the right weight and length. In other cases some of the ACL rules can be flawed for example players keeping their own score, this can lead to cheating. To solve the cheating is to have AST keep the scores instead of the players manually keeping it (Overturf). By solving this issue it prevents games and even tournaments from being replayed (Gillespie). The ACL relies on players to be honest with their score but in some cases, the players are not truthful. McCarthy states "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”.Another rule is you need an ACL-stamped bag in order to use that bag in an ACL tournament. The reasoning behind the stamp is to make the game as fair as possible so people do not bring in lighter or heavier bags to cheat. Another rule they have is that the boards have to be 27 feet apart from the front of the boards. The boards in the American Cornhole league have to be stamped just like the bags so no one can bring a slow or slick board to tournaments and have an advantage over their competition.
The ACL Teams division is composed of sixteen teams divided into four regions within two divisions.[17] There are also minor league teams, akin to a farm system in baseball, which each span a few states.[18]
| American Division | ||
|---|---|---|
| Region | Team | Minor Team (States) |
| North | Michigan Marauders | Detroit Marauders (Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin) |
| New England Woodchucks | Bangor Woodchucks (Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont); Boston Woodchucks (Massachusetts), Hartford Woodchucks (Connecticut), Worcester Woodchucks (Rhode Island) | |
| Ohio Aviators | Charleston Aviators (West Virginia), Cincinnati Aviators (Ohio), Cleveland Aviators (Ohio) | |
| Pennsylvania Ringers | Albany Ringers (New York), Philadelphia Ringers (Pennsylvania), Syracuse Ringers, Trenton Ringers (New Jersey) | |
| South | Carolina Coasters | High Point Coasters (North Carolina), Rock Hill (South Carolina) |
| Florida Freeze | Palm Beach Freeze (Florida) | |
| Georgia Sliders | Suwanee Sliders (Georgia), Hernando Sliders (Mississippi and Alabama) | |
| Virginia Cutters | Chesapeake Cutters, Fredericksburg Cutters (Virginia; also Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C.) | |
| National Division | ||
| Region | Team | Minor Team (States) |
| Central | ||
| Chicagoland Spinners | Cook County Spinners (Illinois), New Paris Spinners (Indiana) | |
| Kentucky Kernels | Memphis Kernels (Tennessee and Arkansas; also Kentucky) | |
| Missouri Maize | Springfield Maize (Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma) | |
| Texas Bully Baggers | Baton Rouge Bully Baggers (Louisiana), College Station Bully Baggers, Dallas Bully Baggers, Houston Bully Baggers (all Texas) | |
| West | ||
| Arizona Burn | Phoenix Burn, Tucson Burn (both Arizona andNew Mexico), Salt Lake City Burn (Utah) | |
| Cali Slingers | Oʻahu Slingers (Hawaiʻi), Sacramento Slingers (California) | |
| Colorado Timber | Mitchell Timber (The Dakotas; also Colorado, Montana, and Wyoming) | |
| Las Vegas High Rollers | Portland High Rollers (Oregon), Rainier High Rollers (Washington and Idaho), Reno High Rollers (Nevada); also Alaska | |