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Assistant Professor
Department of Sport Management
FLG 250D
P.O. Box 118208
Gainesville, FL 32611-8208
(352) 294-1654| mcleod.c@ufl.edu
Dr. Chris McLeod is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sport Management and Associate Director of Research for the Institute for Coaching Excellence at the University of Florida. Dr. McLeod studies athletes' work, development, and employment conditions, focusing on athlete-centric approaches. He is the principal investigator for Is Unrealistic Optimism Good or Bad?—a project funded by the National Science Foundation. His prior research examined the role of unrealistic expectations and aspirational labor in athlete labor markets.
Dr. McLeod has published research in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of Vocational Behavior, Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, Sociology of Sport Journal, and International Review for the Sociology of Sport. He was an advisor for More Than Baseball, an organization dedicated to improving minor league baseball players’ pay and working conditions before unionization in 2023. Dr. McLeod works with leagues and athlete development organizations to improve employees’ work life and development. He also coordinates the Athlete Development Research Symposium in NYC as part of the Professional Association for Athlete Development Specialists’ annual summit.
Dr. McLeod directs the Laboratory for Athlete Development Research, where doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students conduct cutting-edge research on athlete development. Please email Chris at mcleod.c@ufl.edu for more information about the lab.
He is from Aotearoa/New Zealand, and enjoys playing all sports.