Objective. To determine and substantiate the directions of improving sports teams preparation from the perspective of implementing the resource potential of higher education institutions (based on the material of basketball).
Methods. Analysis and processing of information, system method, modeling, survey, expert evaluation.
Results. The features of sports clubs functioning, in particular, basketball ones in higher education institutions of Ukraine, are revealed. These are the presence of a large number of normative legal acts regulating their activities and belonging to a wide range of branches of legislation; dependence on a set of diverse relationships and coordination with numerous state and public organizations; the diversity of organizational and legal forms and insufficient number of sports clubs (unavailable in 44.7 % of higher education institutions); the greatest influence on sports clubs of the factors of higher education institutions; preferential use of material resources of higher education institutions by sports clubs rather than immaterial.
Conclusions. The directions of improving the activity of sports clubs for increase of efficiency of the support of basketball teams preparation have been determined: for the near term prospect - application of internal and external material and immaterial resources of higher education institutions, in particular in formation of organizational structure of club, in providing specialists in all directions of its work; material, technical, medical, scientific-methodical, informational, social and financial support of the club and team; for remote prospect - separation of sports club into an independent structure with self-financing all areas of activity, diversification of sports, health-related and physical culture work, and cooperation with a higher education institution. The proposed directions were positively evaluated by all experts, most of whom noted the high probability of their implementation.