MACDUB
Years ago
Russia following US College system
Interesting read about Russia, with the help of VTB, pumping huge amounts of money into setting up an international version of the NCAA.
Formed last September with the help of Russia's second-largest bank VTB, the International Students Basketball League (ISBL) has quickly grown into a top-notch competition, with 26 collegiate teams from the Baltics to the Far East taking part.
"We have teams from Russia, Ukraine, Estonia, Lithuania, Kazakhstan and even China competing," ISBL chief and VTB senior vice-president Andrei Peregudov told Reuters in an interview.
"Next season, we're adding teams from Belarus and Latvia. We hope Finland and Sweden will also take part. We also negotiating with schools from Serbia and Spain about their participation.
"Japan and South Korea have also expressed interest in joining the ISBL's division in the Far East. In all, we think 30 or 32 teams would be an optimal number."
Huge league. The VTB bank is covering all expenses of the league. Teams will only need to pay for travel.
This is quite incredible. The geographical extent of the league is huge.
I would imagine the standard would be quite high as well.
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/basketball-russian-bank-sponsor-europe-wide-students-league-140753687.html
