4 Steps To Start An Epic Cornhole League

So you want to start a cornhole league

So, there you are, addicted to cornhole. You love the game, but the closest league is about an hour away. You wish there was something closer. You and a buddy think “hey, let’s start our own cornhole league here”. Sounds like a great idea, but you have no idea where to begin. We outlined 4 steps to start your own epic cornhole league.  Hopefully this article helps to guide you in the right direction. Start a league and grow the game!

Finding the perfect venue for your league

I think the first thing you need to do is find a place to play. In order to fit 6 sets of boards, you will need a room that is approximately 40’ x 50’. Even if you don’t need that many sets of boards when you start, finding a place that big that will allow your league to grow in the future. It’s also best if the place offers food and alcohol, that is what you will use as your bargaining tool (we will get into that later)

Check with local bars, VFW’s and Elks clubs and hit up firehouses that have catering halls and any other places in your area that are similar. The next step is the interaction. Find out who is in charge and talk with them. I know what you are thinking, What do I say to them? That’s easy. Tell them what you plan to do. You want to bring a respectful group of people to play the great, up and coming, game of cornhole to your area and you want them to be the host. They will be the “home of the first ever cornhole league” in your area.

Tell them they have the perfect place to do it and that you are going to bring between 30-50 hungry and thirsty people to their establishment every week and if things go well enough and they allow it, maybe even 2 nights a week (1 night of league and 1 night for a blind draw).

This is where the other part comes in from above. The part where you want a place that sells food and alcohol. Tell them that in exchange for the use of the room, you are confident that the sales of food and alcohol will generate enough money to cover any fees they would have in renting the room. Some places might be skeptical, some might tell you to get lost, but I bet you there will be at least 1 place that will take you up on it. And BOOM, you are in!!

If you build it, they will come

Now that you have a venue lined up, the next step is to get the people. That’s actually the easiest part thanks to Facebook. Get a name for your cornhole league, make a Facebook page/group, create an event for the start of a new league and promote the heck out of it. Hit up people from the league you played in before and ask them to come play and help your new league grow. Get your wife, husband, boy/girlfriend, mother/father, grandmother, everyone and anyone to share the event.

What type of league you going to run?

Figure out how you are going to run the cornhole league. A couple of details to keep in mind is to make sure it is fun for everyone. Ah yes, I can not emphasize this enough, it must be FUN!! And everyone must have a shot at winning so if you need to do 2 divisions to separate the beginners from the more advanced players, then do it. Remember, it’s all about having fun and improving your cornhole game.

Are you going to do a BYOP (Bring Your Own Partner), Round Robin League or just do Blind Draw League (there might be other types, but these are the ones I see most)? Let’s break down what each one is.

BYOP League – Just like what it says, Bring Your Own Partner cornhole league, you and a partner play against other doubles team to find out who has the best team. Most of the time, when you run a BYOP league, in order to keep it fair, you should try to run multiple divisions. After all, if 2 beginners constantly played against 2 pros and lost week after week eventually it would lose the fun factor and they probably would stop playing.

Round Robin League – There are 2 ways of running this type of league and we at Hunterdon County Cornhole, have done both.

The first way to run a round robin cornhole league, our old way, is done like this. Each week you will be randomly placed in a group of 4-7 players and alternate partners in a round robin style. The total points you and your partner, for the game, receive, counts towards your total points for the night. Scores are posted weekly and based on where you rank, determines seeding for playoffs. More information on this way can be found in our 2nd article

The second way to run a round robin cornhole league, this is how we do it now, is done using Scoreholio (link below). The software itself does all the work of matching up partners, assigning courts, recording the scores, etc. You set up the event, enter the names of people that show up, press start and BOOM. 

Blind Draw League – is just that. Show up, randomly get paired with a partner and play a double elimination tournament to determine a winner. Someone keeps track of wins/loses and at the end of the season, you can do a playoff with those stats.

Once you figure out what type is best for your league and will be the most fun, you can determine the weekly or season fees associated.

Now you need equipment like cornhole boards and bags

Let’s recap for a minute.  You have the venue, the list of players is growing daily, and you know what type of cornhole league you are offering the players, so now you need equipment like boards, score towers and bags. But you don’t want to spend all your money on this stuff. So, you have a couple of options here. Weigh them out and see what is best for you and your league.

1. You can put the money out yourself and slowly withdraw it from the league money until you are paid back in full. Every 10-week season, we payout winners in the playoffs but with-hold a percentage of money to pay for and maintain the equipment. Whether you need new bags, new boards or if you need to pay back a loan for money fronted for the initial equipment.
2. Hold a fundraiser tournament to generate money for the equipment needed. You may still need to put out a couple dollars of your own money, but the majority can come from this depending on how many teams you can get for the tourney.
3. Collect money for the entire season up-front to pay for equipment. This should work but if something falls through and the league never happens, you are going to owe a bunch of people money that you may no longer have, and they won’t be happy.

So, this is a good look at how to get your cornhole league started. But this is just the beginning. There is a lot of work ahead of you so don’t think you are finished at this point. The cornhole league doesn’t run itself but if your league is anything like mine, you will definitely get people stepping up and offering help when needed. Help to set up boards, clean up, do attendance, collect weekly fees, etc.

Everything will work out if you are willing to dedicate the time to it. And trust me, you think you spent a lot of time just getting the league off the ground? You haven’t even touched the surface of the amount of time needed to manage the cornhole league. You know, all the behind the scenes stuff that people don’t see. Stay tuned, follow up article coming…..

Need Cornhole Equipment?

If you are looking for cornhole boards, score towers and cornhole bags for your new cornhole league, be sure to hit us up. We offer special pricing for bulk orders!! and if you decide to use the Scoreholio software, rather than buying scoretowers, you can grab some Tripods and Fire Tablets. here are a few good recommendations of the most popular ones used by league today

If you decide to do the Round Robin league and want more info on this, check out our next article How to run an awesome cornhole league. This is how we ran our league for many years but a couple years ago, we switched to Scoreholio.