Objective of the study was to determine the positions of Russian universities in the field of student sports based on a comparative analysis on a number of selected criteria. Methods and structure of the study. The comparative analysis was carried out using the data from the website "Association of Student Sports Clubs of Russia", results of the sociological research in the national scientific electronic library Elibrary.ru. We developed a system of evaluation criteria for federal universities. Study results and conclusions. The analysis revealed that different universities have significantly different sports infrastructures. Universities that have hosted World Universiades are greatly ahead in terms of this indicator. It was found that not all federal universities consider the development of sports as an important direction of their development in general and do not include activities for the development of sports within the existing development programs. Currently, all federal universities have sports clubs, but most of them do not have any centers for testing the GTO Complex. In most universities, the quality of informational support for the promotion of sports through the university's website can be assessed as insufficient or unsatisfactory. The comparative analysis of the positions of federal universities in the field of sports aims to identify the vectors of development and stimulate the search for effective solutions to the existing problems.