The American Cornhole League will hold a tournament at the Sigma Chi fraternity house at noon today, beginning a new initiative to grow cornhole at the collegiate level.
The tournament will be the first in a series of qualifiers sweeping the SEC this fall. Teams of two will compete at all 14 universities for the right to represent their school at the main competition in December.
According to founder and director Stacey Moore, the ACL has already found success at the professional level of the sport, as it one of its competitions was broadcast on ESPN2 in July. It also has a year-long series for elite cornhole players that pays $50,000 in prize money, but the ACL is focusing on the future of the sport as well as the present.
“As part of us growing cornhole as a sport, we knew that we needed to develop top-level cornhole playing at the college level,” Moore said. “So this is our first step to do that.”
Each of the 14 teams will receive an all-expenses paid trip to Atlanta to compete in the Southern College Cornhole Championship on Dec. 2. The championship will be broadcast live on ESPNU from the Georgia World Congress Center, and the winning team will receive $10,000 in scholarship money and a trophy.
In addition, all teams will receive official, personalized American Cornhole League jerseys to wear during the championship and tickets to the SEC Championship Game.
Moore said he hopes this event can serve as a springboard toward cornhole eventually becoming an intramural or club sport at SEC schools, and that the ACL intends for the SCCC and its qualifiers to be held annually.
Local radio stations Tide 102.9 and 95.3 The Bear are sponsoring the event, and Johnsonville Foods is sponsoring the entire series. Representatives from Townsquare Media and Johnsonville could not be reached for this story.
When the ACL called about promoting the tournament, Townsquare Media, having sponsored Sigma Chi’s Derby Dash 5K in April, suggested that the fraternity host it. Tommy Marrollo, social chair of Sigma Chi, said he jumped at the opportunity.
“We thought it would be an awesome opportunity to open up the community to Greek life and [show] all the cool things we can do,” Marrollo said. “And it’s good to have something to give back to the community. We’re able to have anyone in Tuscaloosa come over and have a good time with friends and family.”
Check-in begins at 11:30 a.m., and the tournament will start at 12 p.m. It is open to all Alabama students, and the $20 registration fee will help the ACL continue to fund future events in its attempts to grow the sport.
