Adrian College Athletics announced the hiring of Max Benedict as the first head coach of the Adrian College cornhole team ahead of the 2022-23 season. Adrian College announced the addition of cornhole back in October with a start time of the fall of 2022. The cornhole team competes in the American Cornhole League (ACL) at the Collegiate Division.
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 is 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.
Adrian College 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. Cornhole is an inexpensive program to run with limited equipment and travel costs and 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."
Benedict resides in Tecumseh, Michigan and enters his fourth season as Head Coach in 2025-2026.
*Updated as of July 1, 2025*
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