This study examines the staffing system of student sports clubs (SSCs) in Russian higher education institutions. It aims to identify systemic challenges and justify viable solutions. The research draws on an analysis of the regulatory framework, systems analysis, and logical modeling. The findings reveal a fundamental contradiction between the legislative requirement to establish SSCs and the absence of a sustainable financial mechanism for compensating coaching and teaching staff. The current model – relying on faculty members’ voluntary participation and constrained institutional budgets – is shown to be ineffective. Based on the analysis, the paper proposes a model of targeted federal subsidies for coaching positions within SSCs. The study concludes that implementing this mechanism is essential for transforming student sports clubs from formal entities into active contributors to university sports life and for achieving the objectives of the Strategy for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport in the Russian Federation until 2030.