Education

Ph.D., Florida State University, 2021
M.S., Florida State University, 2015
B.S., Alzahra University, 2011

Background

 Tarlan Chahardovali is an assistant professor with the Department of Sport and Entertainment Management. Her research explores the impacts of structural inequalities at the intersections of economics, gender, and labor in the sport industry, employing interpretative frameworks and theories of political economy, culture, and power. Her current line of inquiry focuses on athletes’ labor and market dynamics, with a special focus on the value of women’s sport, women’s labor, and the gender pay gap in the industry. 

Chahardovali joined the University of South Carolina in the fall of 2022 and previously worked as a postdoctoral research scholar at the Global Sport Institute at Arizona State University. She holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in sport management from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Science in physical education/exercise science from AlzahraUniversity. 

Chahardovali was a competitive middle-distance runner in her home country of Iran prior to moving to the U.S. in 2014. She once ran across the Grand Canyon from rim to rim on one day, only to run back across two days later.

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In the Media

Expand all

2024

• Oregon’s Sports Bra, a pub for women’s sports fans, plans national expansion as interest booms: Associated Press
• The Olympics Games: A Societal and Economic Viewpoint | Perspectives Matter

Teaching

• SPTE 801 – Seminar in SPTE Management
• SPTE 585 – Sports Economics
• SPTE 201 – Introduction to Sport Management

Research Interests

• Political economy of sport
• Labor studies
• Women's labor and gender pay gap in sport
• Market dynamics in women's sport

Research Publications

 McLeod, C. M., & Chahardovali, T. (2024). How do low-paid athletes in the United States understand the meaning of the word “professional” in “professional athlete”?. Sport in Society, 27(1), 142-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2023.2245346

Chahardovali, T., Watanabe, N. M., & Dastrup, R. W. (2023). Does location matter? An econometric analysis of stadium location and attendance at National Women’s Soccer League matches. Sociology of Sport Journal, 41(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0217

McLeod, C. M., Agha, N., Pifer, N. D., & Chahardovali, T. (2023). Unrealistic expectations and future status coercion in minor league baseball players' future-oriented labor. Sociology of Sport Journal, 40(4), 363-372. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0193

Watanabe, N. M., Soebbing, B. P., Chahardovali, T., & Huang, Y. (2023). The emergence of mixed martial-arts and the future of boxing: An analysis of consumer interest and compensation. Journal of Sports Economics, 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/15270025231156058

Gerretsen, S., Chahardovali, T., & Brooks, S. (2023). Title  IX and career pathways of coaches across NCAA women’s basketball programs: An intersectional approach to human capital in hiring. Journal of Intercollegiate Sport, 16(1), 25-53. https://journals.ku.edu/jis/article/view/16496

Chahardovali, T., & McLeod, C. M. (2022). Manufacturing dreams and investing in future generations: Women athletes' inspirational labor in the marketing and promotion of their sport. Sociology of Sport Journal, 40(3), 302-311. https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2022-0092

Book Chapters

Chahardovali, T. (2023). The precarious labour of women footballers: A shadow in the light of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. In A. Beissel, V. Postlethwaite, A. Grainger & J. E. Brice (Eds.), The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup: Politics, representation, and management (pp. 52-67). Routledge.

Giardina, M. D., Chahardovali, T., & Newman, J. I. (2021). Globalization, ideology, and sport. In J. Maguire, K. Liston & M. Falcous (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of globalization and sport (pp. 181-203). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-56854-0_9

Professional Affiliations

• North American Society for the Sociology of Sport
• North American Society for Sport Management
• Sport and Recreation Law Association