In a move blending personal roots with professional ambition, Jesse Marks, Northwestern University’s Chief Revenue Officer, is returning to his alma mater, the University of Miami, to assume the same role for the Hurricanes athletic department. The news, first reported by journalist Matt Fortuna on X, underscores the intensifying competition for revenue talent amid college athletics’ seismic shifts toward revenue-sharing and NIL collectives.
Marks, a South Florida native with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and sports administration from Miami, steps back into familiar territory. His departure from Evanston comes after a whirlwind tenure where he spearheaded key infrastructure projects, including oversight of the $850 million Ryan Field rebuild and the temporary lakeside Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium, which generated record revenues in the 2024 football season, according to Northwestern Athletics.
Appointed Northwestern’s inaugural CRO in April 2025, Marks had risen quickly since joining in 2021 as Deputy Director of Athletics for Development. Sports Business Journal noted his promotion from Deputy AD and Assistant VP/Development, positioning him to oversee all revenue-generating functions while maintaining a leadership stake in the new Ryan Field project…