Functioning of Basketball Sports Clubs of Higher Education Institutions in the Leading Countries

Reforming the sphere of physical education and sports in higher education institutions in Ukraine is associated with the development of sports club activities. When solving the problem of organizing student sports clubs in the country, the experience of foreign institutions of higher education is not sufficiently used. The purpose of the study was to learn the world's best experience in the functioning of basketball sports clubs in higher education institutions in the leading countries of the world. Material and methods. The article presents a theoretical analysis and generalization of data on the development of student sports, and functioning of basketball clubs in the United States, the Russian Federation, Australia, Spain, Serbia. Results and discussion. At the World University Games, mainly players who are not participating in national student competitions represent the student basketball teams of the Russian Federation (until 2017), Australia, and Serbia. The exception is the United States. The team of Spain does not participate in basketball competitions at the Universiade. These countries organize regular student basketball tournaments with the division of university teams into divisions, zones, etc. taking into account the level of athletic skill of players and the ability of educational institutions to ensure their training process and participation in competitions. As the world standard is presented the basketball club "Husky" of the Connecticut University of the USA. The university club is considered to be a uniting link between the sports student community and its environment: sports teams, sports and fitness groups, fans, support groups, trainers, teachers and employees of the educational institution participate in it as support resource (managers, doctors, scientists, sponsors and other specialists). Moreover, they involve entrants, students, their parents and friends, graduates. Conclusions. Sports achievements of the countries in the World University Games do not fully reflect the level of student basketball development, and in general in the country. There are athletes who do not play for professional or semiprofessional clubs in the national student competitions of the countries. Internal and external resources of educational, scientific, medical, information, organizational, social, material and technical nature are maximally involved in the implementation and maintenance of sports clubs of institutions of higher education. Much attention is paid to marketing activities.