# List of University of Memphis people

The following is a list of notable University of Memphis people, including alumni, notable faculty members and administrators, and others affiliated with the University of Memphis.

## Notable alumni
### Government, public service, and public policy

* Rex Armistead – private detective, investigator for the defunct Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission and the Arkansas Project
* Arthur Barclay – New Jersey General Assembly member
* Angie Craig – United States Representative for Minnesota’s 2nd Congressional District
* Bernice Donald – United States district court judge
* Bob Fisher – president of Belmont University since 2000
* John Ford – Tennessee politician
* Tre Hargett – Secretary of State, Tennessee
* Willie Herenton – former mayor of Memphis
* Ed Jackson – Tennessee State Senator
* James F. Kyle – State Senator, Tennessee Legislature
* David Lillard – Tennessee state treasurer since 2009
* Viola Harris Mcferren – civil rights activist
* Curtis S. Person Jr. – former State Senator, Tennessee Legislature
* Van B. Poole – former member of both houses of the Florida Legislature
* Frank Scott Jr. – current mayor of Little Rock, AR
* Jim Strickland – former mayor of Memphis
* Fred Thompson – actor and former U.S. Senator

### Literature, arts, and media

* Dixie Carter – actress
* Eric Jerome Dickey – author
* John Dye – actor
* Johanna Edwards – bestselling novelist
* Galen Fott – director and animator
* Brian A. Hopkins – author
* Jason Isbell – recording artist and songwriter, member of The 400 Unit and Drive-By Truckers
* Michael Jeter – actor
* Terry Manning – music producer, photographer
* Wink Martindale – radio dj, radio personality, singer, game show host, television personality, television producer (BS 1957)
* Gary Parrish – sports columnist, radio host and television analyst
* Edmund Warren Perry Jr. – writer
* Olan Rogers – comedian, actor, filmmaker, and YouTuber
* William Sanderson – actor
* Stella Stevens – actress
* J. Karen Thomas – actress (Drop Dead Diva, Nashville)
* Trenyce – singer, American Idol finalist

## Athletics

* Dave Anderson – multiple teams, MLB
* Vincent Askew – multiple teams, NBA
* Earl Barron – NBA
* Will Barton – Denver Nuggets, NBA
* William Bedford – multiple teams, NBA
* Isaac Bruce – San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, NFL
* Antonio Burks – NBA
* Rodney Carney – Golden St. Warriors, NBA
* Joey Dorsey – Toronto Raptors, NBA
* Chris Douglas-Roberts – Milwaukee Bucks, NBA
* Tyreke Evans – Sacramento Kings, NBA
* Larry Finch – Memphis TAMs, ABA
* T. J. Frier – football player
* Stephen Gostkowski – New England Patriots, NFL
* Earnest Gray – NFL, New York Giants
* Sylvester Gray – Miami Heat, NBA
* Penny Hardaway – NBA
* Jim Hardin – Major League Baseball pitcher, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves
* Chad Harville – multiple teams, MLB
* Cedric Henderson – Utah Jazz, NBA
* Richard Jones – New York Nets, NBA
* Larry Kenon – multiple teams, NBA
* Bill Laurie – 1973 NCAA Championship game starting point guard for Memphis State
* Jerry Lawler – Hall of Fame professional wrestler, WWE
* Ronald Leary – Dallas Cowboys, NFL
* Keith Lee – New Jersey Nets, NBA
* James Logan – Houston Oilers, Seattle Seahawks, NFL
* Steve Matthews – Kansas City Chiefs, NFL
* Hank McDowell – multiple teams, NBA
* Mike McKenzie – New Orleans Saints, NFL
* Andy Nelson – Baltimore Colts, NFL
* Lloyd Patterson – Saskatchewan Roughriders
* Ryan Peniston – British tennis player
* Elliot Perry – Phoenix Suns, NBA
* Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls, NBA
* Jack Smith – Philadelphia Eagles, NFL
* Cliff Taylor – multiple teams, NFL
* Adonis Thomas (born 1993) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Andre Turner – multiple teams, NBA
* Dan Uggla – Atlanta Braves, MLB
* David Vaughn – multiple teams, NBA
* Dajuan Wagner – Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA
* Darius Washington – NBA
* Tamika Whitmore – Indiana Fever, WNBA
* Win Wilfong – Cincinnati Royals, NBA
* DeAngelo Williams – Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL
* Shawne Williams – New York Knicks, NBA
* Francis Winkler – Green Bay Packers, NFL
* Jerome Woods – Kansas City Chiefs, NFL
* Jacob Wilson – multiple teams, MLB
* Lorenzen Wright – multiple teams, NBA
* Wayne Yates – Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

## Notable professors and scholars

* Richard Bausch – novelist and short story writer; Moss Chair of Excellence in English at the University of Memphis
* Béla Bollobás – mathematician; known for his work in combinatorics; Fields Medal winner Timothy Gowers' dissertation advisor
* Peter J. Brand – Egyptologist
* Joyce Cobb – jazz vocalist
* Jack Cooper – jazz composer, arranger
* Miriam DeCosta-Willis – first African American faculty member at what was then Memphis State University
* Ralph Faudree – mathematician with a focus on Ramsey theory; provost of the university
* Robert Fisher – MBA, president of Belmont University
* Stan Franklin – cognitive scientist; proponent of artificial consciousness
* Arthur C. Graesser – cognitive psychologist; editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology
* Jessie Mae Hemphill – electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist specializing in Southern music
* Benjamin Hooks – civil rights leader
* Xiangen Hu – professor in cognitive psychology
* John Lee – author, professor of English
* Michael Leff – scholar of rhetoric
* Jennifer R. Mandel – professor of biology
* Milton C. Moreland – archaeologist and president of Centre College
* Cecil C. Rousseau – mathematician and author who specializes in graph theory and combinatorics
* Rebecca Skloot – New York Times bestselling science writer, professor of English

## Coaches

* John Calipari – Kentucky basketball coach
* Penny Hardaway – Memphis basketball coach
* Dana Kirk – Memphis basketball coach
* Josh Pastner – Memphis basketball coach
* Tic Price – Memphis basketball coach

## Other

* Stan Bronson Jr. – Guinness World Record holder batboy for Memphis Tigers baseball