Bags soared through the air of the Field and Sports Building Saturday, where 26 teams dueled for cornhole supremacy.
The thuds of dozens of bags hitting the wooden boards echoed around the room, evidence that the class project was a success.
Senior Adam Smith, a sports administration major, said he and his 31 classmates organized the tournament for their event management class.
"[The assignment] was to put on an event and control every aspect of it," Smith said. "It turned out a lot better than we thought it would."
Smith said class members found sponsors to help pay for the costs of the event, then paid the rest of the expenses out of pocket.
"We generated $380 for the Ball State Relay for Life," Smith said, "and that's after we made our money back."
Nick Huston, senior sports administration major, said the class divided into groups such as finances, marketing and game day operations.
"In the past, classes have always done basketball tournaments, but we wanted to do something different," Huston said.
Initially, the group distributed fliers around campus to spread word, Smith said. However, lack of response led them to attempt a word-of-mouth approach.
Sixteen groups pre-registered, which was short of their goal of 26 to 32 teams, Huston said. Smith said the group was anxious that their plan might not work, but 10 more teams showed on Saturday, surprising organizers and allowing them to achieve their goal.
The tournament was set up in a bracket, with the losers of the first-round game going into a "toilet bowl" bracket, Smith said.
The winner of the main bracket received two free movie passes, an oil change and two coupons to Beef O' Brady's, along with flashy, professional wrestling-style belts, Smith said. The winner of the toilet bowl bracket won two coupons and a brand new toilet bowl seat, he said. Every player who entered received a T-shirt, he said.
Dan Pittman, a junior business administration major, and Kyle Marchina, a junior sports administration major, were the overall winners of the tournament, Smith said.
An entrance fee of $10 was required of every team, and 10 referees were on hand to settle any disputes, Smith said.
Juniors Ashley Wilson and Erin Chapman, both architecture majors, entered the tournament, but lost their first two games, eliminating their team.
"It was a lot of fun," Wilson said, "and at least we got these T-shirts."
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