LOS ANGELES -- Chad Bowden has been named USC football's general manager, head coach Lincoln Riley announced Friday.
"We are very excited to welcome Chad Bowden to our staff," said Riley. "His outstanding body of work in recruiting and roster management is recognized throughout the country. With the support of Jen Cohen and the administration, Chad's hire is both vital to the future of our program and sends a strong message about the direction of USC Football. We're excited for him to arrive and hit the ground running."
Bowden arrives at USC from Notre Dame, where he served as the program's first general manager, overseeing all the Fighting Irish's personnel and recruiting strategies. Earlier this month, Bowden was named the 2024 FootballScoop Player Personnel Director of the Year for his outstanding roster construction and exceptional utilization of the transfer portal.
"My wife, Ava, and I couldn't be more grateful and excited to join the Trojan Family," Bowden said. "Jen Cohen, Lincoln Riley and USC's total commitment to excellence make this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. This is a place with the resources, facilities and support to build a perennial winner, and I'm excited to get to work to help bring more national championships to USC."
Throughout his four seasons in South Bend, Ind. (2021-24), Bowden rose up the personnel ranks, beginning as a defensive recruiting coordinator. He was quickly promoted to defensive director of recruiting before being named Notre Dame's director of recruiting in February 2022. Bowden held this role during the 2022 and 2023 seasons before earning the promotion to general manager in March 2024. During his time at Notre Dame, Bowden helped construct four unanimously ranked Top 12 recruiting classes from 2022-2025.
"The Trojan Family is thrilled to welcome Chad and his wife Ava to USC," said USC Director of Athletics Jen Cohen. "Chad is the perfect fit to help us build and sustain a championship-level football program in the new era of college athletics. His work and expertise will be essential in the construction and management of our roster, the elevation of our robust NIL program and the organization of our entire football operations. Combined with USC's competitive resources and growing support, adding a general manager of Chad's caliber and pedigree to our staff is a vital step toward fully realizing this program's enormous potential, and I am eager to work with him and Coach Riley to add to USC's unparalleled legacy of Heisman winners, All-Americans and national champions."
At the conclusion of the 2023 season, Bowden's transfer portal efforts helped Notre Dame land the No. 15 class in the On3 2024 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. When Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman accepted the Fighting Irish defensive coordinator position in 2021, he brought Bowden with him. Bowden worked previously as Cincinnati's director of recruiting under head coach Luke Fickell.
Prior to his promotion, Bowden was a student assistant in the recruiting department at Cincinnati. There, he developed his relationship with Freeman, when the current Notre Dame head coach was the Bearcats' defensive coordinator/linebackers coach. Bowden's recruiting efforts for the Bearcats resulted in the signing of 2020 quarterback Evan Prater, Cincinnati's highest-ranked recruit in program history. While in school at Cincinnati, Bowden interned for the Miami Dolphins as well as worked for the MVP Sports Group in Los Angeles. Bowden's father, Jim Bowden, is the former general manager of the Cincinnati Reds. When he stepped into the role in 1992, Bowden, 31, became the youngest general manager in the history of Major League Baseballat the time.