Christian Sarkisian joined Northwestern Athletics as General Manager in May 2025. Sarkisian, a Northwestern alum who previously worked in the Department, possesses a deep background in professional football scouting and collegiate athletics administration.
As General Manager, Sarkisian oversees the operational functions related to the NCAA House settlement, which is pending formal approval, and its impact on all of Northwestern's intercollegiate athletics programs. He also oversees all aspects of salary cap management for Northwestern Athletics, with a primary emphasis on football. This position, now commonplace across Power Four athletic programs, is responsible for developing and executing the department's revenue-sharing strategy, including tracking and distributing revenue share payments and additional scholarship allocations. Sarkisian leads student-athlete evaluations, contract negotiations and is accountable for the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) clearinghouse.
Sarkisian contributes to long-term strategic planning and acts as an advisor to senior leadership. Additionally, he works closely with coaches to establish and manage annual scholarship budgets and revenue allocations, forecast and analyze future recruiting class needs, and provides recommendations for student-athlete revenue-share distributions. Sarkisian develops and implements systems to effectively evaluate and value student-athletes for various sports through comprehensive assessments that consider factors beyond traditional statistics and monitors and tracks current roster expenditures to ensure alignment with market trends and Northwestern fiscal priorities.
A veteran NFL scout, Sarkisian returned to Northwestern after nearly seven years with the Cincinnati Bengals. During his time with the Bengals, he was a member of the personnel department that contributed to two AFC Championship appearances. His responsibilities included college and pro scouting, involvement in personnel decisions, evaluating prospects, managing pre-NFL Draft visits, and contributing to roster and salary cap management. Prior to his role with the Bengals, Sarkisian was a Scouting Assistant with National Football Scouting/National Invitational Camp.
Sarkisian worked at Northwestern as the Assistant Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting Assistant from 2015 to 2017. He holds a Master of Arts in Sports Administration from Northwestern and a Bachelor of Science in Sports Leadership & Management from Miami University.
As General Manager, Sarkisian oversees the operational functions related to the NCAA House settlement, which is pending formal approval, and its impact on all of Northwestern's intercollegiate athletics programs. He also oversees all aspects of salary cap management for Northwestern Athletics, with a primary emphasis on football. This position, now commonplace across Power Four athletic programs, is responsible for developing and executing the department's revenue-sharing strategy, including tracking and distributing revenue share payments and additional scholarship allocations. Sarkisian leads student-athlete evaluations, contract negotiations and is accountable for the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) clearinghouse.
Sarkisian contributes to long-term strategic planning and acts as an advisor to senior leadership. Additionally, he works closely with coaches to establish and manage annual scholarship budgets and revenue allocations, forecast and analyze future recruiting class needs, and provides recommendations for student-athlete revenue-share distributions. Sarkisian develops and implements systems to effectively evaluate and value student-athletes for various sports through comprehensive assessments that consider factors beyond traditional statistics and monitors and tracks current roster expenditures to ensure alignment with market trends and Northwestern fiscal priorities.
A veteran NFL scout, Sarkisian returned to Northwestern after nearly seven years with the Cincinnati Bengals. During his time with the Bengals, he was a member of the personnel department that contributed to two AFC Championship appearances. His responsibilities included college and pro scouting, involvement in personnel decisions, evaluating prospects, managing pre-NFL Draft visits, and contributing to roster and salary cap management. Prior to his role with the Bengals, Sarkisian was a Scouting Assistant with National Football Scouting/National Invitational Camp.
Sarkisian worked at Northwestern as the Assistant Director of Player Personnel and Recruiting Assistant from 2015 to 2017. He holds a Master of Arts in Sports Administration from Northwestern and a Bachelor of Science in Sports Leadership & Management from Miami University.