How to set up a high school basketball team website

A high school basketball team website has one job: give families, fans and sponsors one link that answers when the team plays, where, and who is on the floor. Basketball has its own wrinkles. Varsity, JV and freshman teams often play the same night at different times, boys' and girls' programs run separate schedules, and a winter storm can move a game with a few hours' notice.

This guide walks through setting one up in the order that matters at the start of a season: the basics, the schedule, tryouts and the roster, sponsors, and who keeps it current. A setup checklist is at the end.

Start with the basics

Before anything else, put these on the first screen:

• the team's full name, including boys' or girls' and the level, such as varsity
• the season, for example 2026–27
• the home gym's name and street address
• one team email address that someone reads

If the boys' and girls' programs share a site, keep their schedules and rosters clearly separate. A parent of a girls' JV player should never have to read through the boys' varsity schedule to find a game.

The schedule

The schedule is why most people open the site. For every game, list:

• the date and start time
• the level: varsity, JV or freshman
• the opponent
• home or away
• the gym's name and street address, including for away games

On nights when several levels play back to back, list each game with its own start time. "Varsity 7:00, JV before" leaves a JV family guessing. Away schools can be large campuses with more than one gym, so name the gym and give the address that gets a visitor to the right door.

Post changes the same day, before or with the group text. Basketball games get moved for weather, for gym conflicts and for tournaments. A schedule that is wrong once teaches parents to check somewhere else.

Use the official schedule as the source

If your state association or league publishes the schedule, link to it, and keep your site matching it. In Michigan, the MHSAA posts each team's schedule. A site that copies from the official schedule by hand will drift. One that reads from it stays right.

Tickets and streams

If your school sells tickets online or streams home games, link to both from the schedule. Families who can't make an away game will look for the stream on the team site first.

Tryouts and the roster

Before the season, the most-asked question is when tryouts are. Post the dates, times, gym and what to bring as soon as they are set, and say who to contact with questions. If tryouts run over several days, list each day, and say when and how players will hear the results.

Once the team is set, post the roster. Jersey number, name and class year are enough for a fan in the stands to match a number to a name. Keep each season's roster separate, and keep each level's roster separate too.

Most high school players are minors. Leave off birthdays, phone numbers, addresses and anything else personal, and check your school's policy on student names and photos before posting either.

Sponsors

Local businesses are often glad to support a basketball program if the recognition is visible. A sponsor section with each business's name, logo and a link to its website is something they can point to, and it reaches families all season, not only on game nights.

Group sponsors into two or three named levels, say what the money pays for, such as warm-ups, travel to tournaments or a summer camp, and include a clear way for a new sponsor to get in touch. For what to offer and how to ask, see How to ask local businesses to sponsor your team.

Give every section an owner

Team sites go stale because nobody in particular owns them. Before the first game, pick one person for each part: schedule, roster, sponsors and events. On most teams these are parent volunteers, not coaches. Then have someone check the whole site once a week in season.

Make sure those people can make changes themselves. If moving a start time means emailing whoever built the site, it will not get moved.

That is the problem OurTeamSports was built for. It gives a team a website in its colors with schedule, roster, sponsor and event sections that coaches and parents update without a developer. Michigan teams can link their MHSAA schedule, and the site keeps games and scores in step with it. To see a live team site, look at the H.H. Dow High Chargers hockey site, where it started.

Setup checklist

• The first screen names the team, boys' or girls', the level, the season and the home gym.
• The home gym has a street address and a directions link.
• Every game lists the date, start time, level, opponent, home or away, and the gym's address.
• Back-to-back games list each level's own start time.
• Boys' and girls' schedules and rosters are kept separate.
• The site matches the official schedule, or reads from it.
• Ticket and livestream links are on the schedule, if your school has them.
• Tryout dates, times, gym and what to bring are posted as soon as they are set.
• The roster shows jersey number, name and class year, one season and one level at a time.
• Sponsors are listed by level, with what the money pays for and how to join.
• Each section has a named owner who can edit it, and someone checks the site weekly.