Subject to the study were national academic sports provisioning and financing practices in the early 20th century with Saint Petersburg State University taken for the case study. The available historical accounts of the physical education process at the Russian education system provide scarce information on the equipment and facilities for the academic sports. Of special interest are the reports on the material and financial provisions for the academic sports at Saint Petersburg State University that pioneered in introducing Swedish gymnastics and athletic courses back in 1901 followed by other sport groups and teams. The university management did their best to provide the sport enthusiasts with due equipment; provided dedicated spaces for the training sessions; took on lease sport grounds for the athletes; and in 1902-1904 contracted a gymnastics trainer as a course manager. Later on the university management was largely disinterested in the academic sports albeit the Ministry of People's Education still assigned RUB1000 in 1912 for the academic sports at the university.