The ‘Cats fill a position that has become commonplace in the NIL era of college athletics.
Northwestern announced former Cincinnati Bengals scout Christian Sarkisian as the first-ever general manager of its athletics department in a press release on Tuesday morning.
According to the release, Sarkisian will oversee “the operational functions related to the NCAA House settlement,” in addition to “all aspects of salary cap management.” His “primary emphasis” will be on the football program.
Sarkisian previously worked in the Northwestern football program from 2015-2017 as the Assistant Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting Assistant. He joined the Bengals in 2018 after a brief stint as a Scouting Assistant with National Football Scouting/National Invitational Camp and worked with the team for nearly seven seasons.
Sarkisian grew up in Wilmette, IL. and attended Northwestern football games as a kid.
“After seven years learning from the greatest of football minds and leaders, I feel ready to help add to the legacy of Northwestern’s athletic programs,” said Sarkisian in the press release. “From growing up never missing a Saturday at Ryan Field to helping build rosters that won bowl games and went to the Big Ten Championship, I’ve learned, and have been raised by, the Northwestern standard of excellence, and I look forward to doing my part to elevate our athletic programs.”
Bengals President Mike Brown called Sarkisian “an invaluable member of the Bengals organization” in an interview with Bengals.com. Per Northwestern’s press release, Sarkisian’s role in Cincinnati included “college and pro scouting, involvement in personnel decisions, evaluating prospects, managing pre-NFL Draft visits, and contributing to roster and salary cap management.”
Sarkisian personally scouted the Bengals’ 2025 first-round pick, Texas A&M defensive end Shemar Stewart, as the organization’s scout in charge of the Aggies, per Bengals.com.
“Christian brings a wealth of experience from his time in the NFL and his previous work here in Evanston, particularly in areas such as student-athlete evaluation, recruitment and strategic resources,” said Northwestern athletic director Mark Jackson in the press release. “His perspective and leadership will be instrumental as we navigate a rapidly changing college athletics environment and continue to support our student-athletes at the highest level.”
With the hiring, Northwestern joins the growing number of Power Four schools that have appointed a general manager in recent years, a position that has become especially important given the upcoming House v. NCAA settlement which could implement revenue sharing and a formal salary cap as soon as this Fall. The House v. NCAA settlement will also likely include a 105-player roster limit for college football for the upcoming 2025 season. Without any cuts, Northwestern right now has a projected roster of 113, including incoming freshmen who will join the team formally in June.
Northwestern football head coach David Braun called the player limit and the NCAA’s lack of transparency as to how it will be implemented “really, really frustrating” at an open practice for the team back in April.
Stanford hired its former Heisman trophy runner-up quarterback Andrew Luck as its football general manager in November of 2024, but most other schools have followed the Northwestern track and tapped a scout to fill the position. For example, Duke hired former Florida State director of scouting for offense John Garrett in January of 2024, and Vanderbilt added a national recruiting analyst from 247Sports in Barton Simmons in 2021.
Northwestern football only has two commits in its class of 2026 after three-star cornerback Joshua Sims flipped to Tulane last Thursday, but the ‘Cats are slated to land five new commitments after a weekend of official visits, per Wildcat Report. Three-star offensive tackle Leighton Burbach was the first to go public with his commitment on Sunday, choosing the ‘Cats over Iowa State, Minnesota and Texas Tech.