AAU basketball is a multi-billion-dollar youth industry and the directors at the top are obsessed with operations. When you're running 120 games across 8 courts in a weekend, your software stack matters more than your concession stand.
What the top AAU directors run
One platform for registration, brackets, and SMS
The days of Exposure Events + SportsEngine + SignUp Genius + a group text are over. One platform pulls team registration into bracket generation into SMS notifications into score submission.
Court rotations that respect the gym
A 10-court venue doesn't mean 10 identical courts — the main court has stands, 2 and 3 have better flooring, 4-10 are auxiliary. The scheduler should let you tag courts and assign elite matchups to the stands.
Live brackets on a public URL
College coaches watching from laptops don't want to install an app. A public bracket URL with live scores and matchup details is non-negotiable.
What to ditch
- Per-event software fees (a full season of AAU is 8-12 events)
- Paper score sheets — go captain-entry with one-time tokens
- Manual re-seeding after pool play
- Third-party SMS tools that charge $0.05 per text
Livestream integration
Many top AAU events now livestream via BallerTV or similar. Your tournament platform should publish game IDs that feed directly into the stream queue so operators never fumble for a game.
Run your club or travel season on the Sports Tier
SignUpGo's Sports Tier ($59/mo) is built for club, travel, and AAU programs who run real tournaments every weekend. You get unlimited tournaments, 5 user seats, 1,000 messaging credits, full pool play & bracket automation, captain score entry, team & player registration, entry fees, and merch — without paying per-event software fees.
- Unlimited brackets across multiple courts, fields, or diamonds
- SMS alerts the second a pool finishes or a court reassigns
- Collect entry fees, team deposits, and merch at checkout
- Custom branding so parents see your club, not our logo
Ready to run a cleaner weekend? Start with the Sports Tier, compare plans, or try the tournament builder in under two minutes.