ADRIAN -- Adrian College Athletic Director Michael Duffy announced the hiring of Max Benedict as the head coach of the Adrian College cornhole team. Adrian College announced the addition of cornhole back in October with a start time of the fall of 2022. The cornhole team is slatted to compete in the American Cornhole League (ACL) at the Collegiate Division.

"We are very excited to add Max to our staff to start up our cornhole program," Duffy said. "We see Max building a competitive culture that will help the team compete at the national level while also bringing in a fantastic group of student-athletes to the Adrian College community."

Benedict is a 2020 graduate of Western Michigan University where he finished with a degree in communications with a minor in history. He also spent a semester studying abroad at Roehampton University in London, England. He spent time as a IT specialist apprentice for the University of Michigan after serving as a manager at Headwaters Camping and Cabins, and a keyholder at St. Julian Winery.

Benedict will be the head coach of the first co-ed cornhole team in the state of Michigan at Adrian College where the team will have its own facility consisting of six playing fields. He will take the team to regional and national level tournaments within the ACL that can eventually be featured on ESPN.

Duffy expects the new co-ed sports program will attract a lot of students with the Bulldogs' players having an opportunity to compete on a national stage against some of the greatest amateur and professional players in the world. He added that cornhole is an inexpensive program to run with limited equipment and travel costs. The Bulldogs already have a main sponsor backing them with Killshots Cornhole, a national cornhole equipment manufacturer located in Adrian, donating custom bags and boards.

"It's exciting when you get to dive into something groundbreaking and new," Benedict said. "I am honored that Adrian College has given me the opportunity to do just that through the addition of cornhole."

Cornhole is scheduled to begin in the fall season of 2022 and go until the early months of 2023 where the majority of national tournaments take place.

Benedict resides in Tecumseh, Mich. and will begin recruiting and head coach responsibilities immediately.