The American Cornhole Organization (the ACO) is the Official Governing Body for the Sport of Cornhole since 2005. Established in 2005 and headquartered in Milford, Ohio, the ACO offers official cornhole rules, sanctioned products, tournament listings and comprehensive information about cornhole events. Whether played at a tailgate or at a tournament, the sport remains popular at all levels and within all age groups.
Among the events the organization puts on are the following:
ACO Regionals (local tournaments)
Sports Destination Management sat down with Frank Geers, president and founder of ACO, to learn more about the sport, about the organization and about its events.
Sports Destination Management: How many events does ACO put on per year and how many do they draw?
Frank Geers: We put on over 40 events nationwide. The majority of our majors bring in between 50 to 700 players. They are big three-day festivals. Our World Championships are bigger.
SDM: Are events always held inside the USA?
Geers: It looks like we are going to have our first major championship held outside the country in 2024 but we have not finalized all the details yet. When we do, it’ll be announced on our website.
SDM: How do people begin to play cornhole professionally?
Geers: I think the majority of people who transfer over to playing professionally do so because they think they are good and want to see how far they can go. They like the idea of playing with other people at a higher level to find out how good they can be at the sport.
SDM: What do you think is the main attraction of the sport?
Geers: You can play the game for fun, or you can play the game professionally. People have played at tailgates, weddings, business functions and backyards. If you want to play seriously, you can get better as long as you work at it, and it doesn’t matter whether you’re a man or a woman, it doesn’t matter what race you are, and it doesn’t matter what age you are. We have women who compete every bit as aggressively as men do.
SDM: Any idea how many people play?
Geers: It is difficult to pinpoint how many people play or have played; if I were guessing, I’d say about every one in three Americans has played it at some time or other.
SDM: Is ACO a membership organization?
Geers: Yes; we have about 5,200 active players, plus about 65,000 followers on Facebook and 10,000-plus on our digital network on YouTube.
SDM: When it comes to siting your tournaments, what do you look for?
Geers: In terms of facilities, we need something that has at least 14-foot ceilings. Many events use 20,000 to 40,000 square feet of space but our World Championships require about 100,000 square feet of space. Those events are 10-day festivals, with people competing for the world title.
SDM: Do you bring everything in when tournaments are held?
Geers: Yes, it’s a turnkey program, although players bring their bags to the table these days; we bring everything else on the truck.
SDM: People have their favorite bags?
Geers: Yes, there is not one company out there supplying cornhole equipment; I would say that easily, that number is 130.
SDM: But there are standards.
Geers: Yes, the bag is a standard 6 inch by 6 inch. There are also standardizations in boards themselves, for the size, angle, etc.
SDM: You’d mentioned earlier that the sport was open to everyone. Where would you like to see it grow?
Geers: We’d like to grow in the Black and Hispanic markets. Female involvement is growing.
SDM: Any idea of the economic impact?
Geers: When we went to Branson in 2022, the number was between $1.4 and $2.1 million. When we moved to Owensboro Kentucky, I believe the impact was $1.4 million.
SDM: If people want to host an event, how do they express interest?
Geers: They can reach out to me by e-mail: frank@americancornhole.com
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