Nola Agha

Dr. Nola Agha is a Full Professor at the University of San Francisco as well as an award-winning educator and researcher. She teaches not only quantitative analysis but also the ethical application of business practices in order to develop inclusive leaders for the sport industry. Dr. Agha’s research involves inequitable redistributions of wealth, the structural forces that allow for inequities, and policies that can remedy them. This includes the public subsidization of professional sport as well as gender inequities present in women’s sport. She has published widely and serves on the editorial board of several academic journals. Dr. Agha has worked in dot-com start-ups, international businesses, and she consults for some of the world’s largest sporting leagues.

• Economic impact of teams, stadiums, and events
• Public subsidies for stadiums and arenas
• Inequitable redistributions of wealth in women’s sport and minor league baseball

• Sports economics
• Strategic management
• Public goods and externalities
• Efficiency and equity outcomes of stadium subsidies

• Associate Editor, Journal of Sport Management

• University of Massachusetts, Amherst, PhD in Management, 2010
• University of San Francisco, MA in Sport Management, 1999
• Indiana University, BA in Kinesiology, 1996

• Adjunct Professor, Universidad Loyola Andalucía (2021-2022)
• Teacher in Sport Finance and Sport Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst (2004-2010)

• Indiana University School of Public Health-Bloomington, John R. Endwright Alumni Service Award, 2021
• University of San Francisco, Innovation in Teaching and Technology Award, 2017
• North American Case Research Association (NACRA), Best Case - Bronze, 2016
• Western Casewriters Association and Case Studies in Sports Management, Best Mentored Sports Case Award, 2014    

• Agha, N., & Taks, M. (2025). Economic impact, fiscal loss, and redistribution of wealth in sport events. Journal of Sport Management, 39(5).
• Agha, N., Berri. D. A., Bhat, A., & Van Gilder, J. (2024). The effect of national origin and skin color on playing time in the WNBA. Journal of Sport Economics, 25(6), 735-752.
• Katz, M., Melton, E. N., Isard, R., & Agha, N. (2024). Fan networks in women’s sport: An egocentric analysis of Social Fans and IsoFans. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 33(2), 166-180.
• McLeod, C. & Agha, N. (2023). Why do unfairly paid trainees persist? Pay fairness and human capital investment in development leagues. Journal of Sport Management, 37(2), 141-153.
• Oshimi, D., Taks, M., & Agha, N. (2023). Social impact of events: Advancing insights on social impact scales. European Sport Management Quarterly, 6(23), 1843-1862.
• Agha, N. (2023). The unshakeable belief in the economic impact of sports. In V. Matheson and R. Baumann (Eds.), The Economic Impact of Sports Facilities, Franchises, and Events: Contributions in Honor of Robert Baade (pp. 23-45). Springer.