List of University of Memphis people

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

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^[1]
• Bernice Donald – United States district court judge^[2]
• Bob Fisher – president of Belmont University since 2000
• John Ford – Tennessee politician^[3]
• Tre Hargett – Secretary of State, Tennessee
• Willie Herenton – former mayor of Memphis^[4]
• Ed Jackson – Tennessee State Senator^[5]
• James F. Kyle – State Senator, Tennessee Legislature^[6]
• David Lillard – Tennessee state treasurer since 2009^[7]
• Viola Harris Mcferren – civil rights activist
• Curtis S. Person Jr. – former State Senator, Tennessee Legislature^[8]
• Van B. Poole – former member of both houses of the Florida Legislature^[9]
• Frank Scott Jr. – current mayor of Little Rock, AR
• Jim Strickland – former mayor of Memphis
• Fred Thompson – actor and former U.S. Senator^[10]

Literature, arts, and media

• Dixie Carter – actress^[11]
• Eric Jerome Dickey – author^[12]
• John Dye – actor^[13]
• Johanna Edwards – bestselling novelist
• Galen Fott – director and animator^[14]
• Brian A. Hopkins – author
• Jason Isbell – recording artist and songwriter, member of The 400 Unit and Drive-By Truckers^[15]
• Michael Jeter – actor^{[citation needed]}
• Terry Manning – music producer,^[16] photographer
• Wink Martindale – radio dj, radio personality, singer, game show host, television personality, television producer (BS 1957)^{[17][circular reference]}
• Gary Parrish – sports columnist, radio host and television analyst
• Edmund Warren Perry Jr. – writer^[18]
• Olan Rogers – comedian, actor, filmmaker, and YouTuber^[19]
• William Sanderson – actor^[20]
• Stella Stevens – actress
• J. Karen Thomas – actress (Drop Dead Diva, Nashville)^[21]
• Trenyce – singer, American Idol finalist^[22]

Athletics

• Dave Anderson – multiple teams, MLB^[23]
• Vincent Askew – multiple teams, NBA^[24]
• Earl Barron – NBA^[25]
• Will Barton – Denver Nuggets, NBA^[26]
• William Bedford – multiple teams, NBA
• Isaac Bruce – San Francisco 49ers, St. Louis Rams, NFL^[27]
• Antonio Burks – NBA^[28]
• Rodney Carney – Golden St. Warriors, NBA^[29]
• Joey Dorsey – Toronto Raptors, NBA^[30]
• Chris Douglas-Roberts – Milwaukee Bucks, NBA^[31]
• Tyreke Evans – Sacramento Kings, NBA^[32]
• Larry Finch – Memphis TAMs, ABA
• T. J. Frier – football player^[33]
• Stephen Gostkowski – New England Patriots, NFL^[34]
• Earnest Gray – NFL, New York Giants
• Sylvester Gray – Miami Heat, NBA^[35]
• Penny Hardaway – NBA^[36]
• Jim Hardin – Major League Baseball pitcher, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves
• Chad Harville – multiple teams, MLB^[37]
• Cedric Henderson – Utah Jazz, NBA^[38]
• Richard Jones – New York Nets, NBA^[39]
• Larry Kenon – multiple teams, NBA^[40]
• Bill Laurie – 1973 NCAA Championship game starting point guard for Memphis State^{[citation needed]}
• Jerry Lawler – Hall of Fame professional wrestler, WWE^[41]
• Ronald Leary – Dallas Cowboys, NFL^[42]
• Keith Lee – New Jersey Nets, NBA^[43]
• James Logan – Houston Oilers, Seattle Seahawks, NFL^{[citation needed]}
• Steve Matthews – Kansas City Chiefs, NFL^[44]
• Hank McDowell – multiple teams, NBA^[45]
• Mike McKenzie – New Orleans Saints, NFL^[46]
• Andy Nelson – Baltimore Colts, NFL
• Lloyd Patterson – Saskatchewan Roughriders^[47]
• Ryan Peniston – British tennis player
• Elliot Perry – Phoenix Suns, NBA^[48]
• Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls, NBA^[49]
• Jack Smith – Philadelphia Eagles, NFL^[50]
• Cliff Taylor – multiple teams, NFL^[51]
• Adonis Thomas (born 1993) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Andre Turner – multiple teams, NBA^[52]
• Dan Uggla – Atlanta Braves, MLB^[53]
• David Vaughn – multiple teams, NBA
• Dajuan Wagner – Cleveland Cavaliers, NBA^[54]
• Darius Washington – NBA^[55]
• Tamika Whitmore – Indiana Fever, WNBA^[56]
• Win Wilfong – Cincinnati Royals, NBA^[57]
• DeAngelo Williams – Pittsburgh Steelers, NFL^[58]
• Shawne Williams – New York Knicks, NBA^[59]
• Francis Winkler – Green Bay Packers, NFL^[60]
• Jerome Woods – Kansas City Chiefs, NFL^[61]
• Jacob Wilson – multiple teams, MLB^[62]
• Lorenzen Wright – multiple teams, NBA^[63]
• Wayne Yates – Los Angeles Lakers, NBA^[64]

Notable professors and scholars

• Richard Bausch – novelist and short story writer; Moss Chair of Excellence in English at the University of Memphis^[65]
• Béla Bollobás – mathematician; known for his work in combinatorics; Fields Medal winner Timothy Gowers' dissertation advisor^[66]
• Peter J. Brand – Egyptologist^[67]
• Joyce Cobb – jazz vocalist
• Jack Cooper – jazz composer, arranger^[68]
• Miriam DeCosta-Willis – first African American faculty member at what was then Memphis State University^[69]
• Ralph Faudree – mathematician with a focus on Ramsey theory; provost of the university^[70]
• Robert Fisher – MBA, president of Belmont University^[71]
• Stan Franklin – cognitive scientist; proponent of artificial consciousness^[72]
• Arthur C. Graesser – cognitive psychologist; editor of the Journal of Educational Psychology^[73]
• Jessie Mae Hemphill – electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist specializing in Southern music^[74]
• Benjamin Hooks – civil rights leader^[75]
• Xiangen Hu – professor in cognitive psychology
• John Lee – author, professor of English^{[citation needed]}
• Michael Leff – scholar of rhetoric^[76]
• Jennifer R. Mandel – professor of biology^[77]
• Milton C. Moreland – archaeologist and president of Centre College^[78]
• Cecil C. Rousseau – mathematician and author who specializes in graph theory and combinatorics^[79]
• Rebecca Skloot – New York Times bestselling science writer, professor of English^[80]

Coaches

• John Calipari – Kentucky basketball coach^[81]
• Penny Hardaway – Memphis basketball coach^[36]
• Dana Kirk – Memphis basketball coach^[82]
• Josh Pastner – Memphis basketball coach^[83]
• Tic Price – Memphis basketball coach^[84]

Other

• Stan Bronson Jr. – Guinness World Record holder batboy for Memphis Tigers baseball^[85]

References

1. Assemblyman Arthur Barclay, New Jersey Legislature. Accessed August 18, 2016.
2. "Bernice Donald". Federal Judicial Center. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
3. "John Ford (Tennessee politician)" (PDF). Tennessee General Assembly Blue Book. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
4. "Willie Herenton". City Mayors. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
5. Whetstone, Tyler (July 27, 2014). "Ed Jackson uses business sense, endurance in Senate race". The Jackson Sun. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
6. "Jim Kyle". Tennessee General Assembly. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
7. "Company Overview of State Of Tennessee: David H. Lillard Jr". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
8. "Curtis S. Person, Jr". Shelby County Tennessee. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
9. "Van B. Poole". Florida House of Representatives. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
10. "Fred Thompson". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
11. "Dixie Carter". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
12. "Eric Jerome Dickey". The University of Memphis. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
13. "John Dye". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2009. Archived from the original on May 26, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
14. Donnell, Evans (August 15, 2013). "Animation in Nashville: Bigfott Studios at Belcourt This Saturday". ArtsNash. Archived from the original on December 16, 2013.
15. DeYoung, Bill (March 19, 2014). "SMF review: Jason Isbell". Connect Savannah. Retrieved March 30, 2014.
16. "Terry Manning". The University of Memphis. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
17. "Wink Martindale". Wikipedia. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
18. Koeppel, Fredric, "Ex-Memphian Warren Perry Embraces Art, from Light-Hearted to Heavy-Handed," The Commercial Appeal August 30, 2009
19. Paulson, Dave (February 22, 2018). "'Final Space': Can Nashville's Olan Rogers make TV's next animated hit?". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
20. "William Sanderson". IMDb.com, Inc. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
21. Pagetta, Joe (March 26, 2015). "Nashville-based actress and singer J. Karen Thomas Dies at 50". NowPlayingNashville.com. Retrieved April 20, 2015.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
22. "TRENYCE". Memphis Downtowner Magazine. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
23. "Dave Anderson". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
24. "Vincent Askew". databaseBasketball.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
25. "Earl Barron". Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
26. "Will Barton". Gotigersgo.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
27. "Isaac Bruce". Pro-Football Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
28. "Antonio Burks". NBA.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
29. "Rodney Carney". NBA.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
30. "Joey Dorsey". NBA.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
31. "Chris Douglas-Roberts". NBA.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
32. "Tyreke Evans". Basketball Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
33. "T.J. Frier". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved May 9, 2015.
34. "Stephen Gostkowski". New England Patriots. Archived from the original on March 12, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
35. "Sylvester Gray". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
36. "Anfernee Hardaway". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
37. "Chad Harville". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
38. "Cedric Henderson". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
39. "Richard Jones". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
40. "Larry Kenon". databaseBasketball.com. Archived from the original on October 18, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
41. "Jerry Lawler". Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on July 17, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
42. "Ronald Leary". Pro-Football Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
43. "Keith Lee". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
44. "Steve Matthews". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
45. "Hank McDowell". databaseBasketball.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
46. "Mike McKenzie". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
47. "Lloyd Patterson". justsportsstats.com. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
48. "Elliot Perry". databaseBasketball.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
49. "Derrick Rose". NBA.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
50. "JACK SMITH". profootballarchives.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
51. "Cliff Taylor". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
52. "Andre Turner". databaseBasketball.com. Archived from the original on July 20, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
53. "Dan Uggla". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
54. "Dajuan Wagner". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
55. "Darius Washington". Gotigersgo.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
56. "Tamika Whitmore". WNBA.com. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
57. "Win Wilfong". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
58. "DeAngelo Williams". The Carolina Panthers. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
59. "Shawne Williams". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
60. "Francis Winkler". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
61. "Jerome Woods". NFL.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
62. "Jacob Wilson (2021) - M Club Hall of Fame". University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved September 8, 2024.
63. "Lorenzen Wright". NBA.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
64. "Wayne Yates". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
65. "Award-Winning Author Richard Bausch Will Lead Fall Writing Workshop at the U of M". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
66. "3rd Annual CLION Symposium Will Meet October 13–14 at the U of M; Focus Will Be on Random Networks' Applications in Defense and Civilian Sectors". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
67. "Peter J. Brand Associate Professor". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
68. "Dr. Jack Cooper, Director of Jazz Studies, The University of Memphis". The University of Memphis. Retrieved May 27, 2015.
69. Testino, Laura (January 7, 2021). "Memphis Civil Rights activist Miriam DeCosta-Willis dies at 86". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
70. "Dr. Thomas Nenon, Interim Provost The University of Memphis". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
71. "Office of the President: About Bob Fisher". Belmont University. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
72. "Evans |面板层压 & 层压板台面生产机械".
73. "Arthur C. Graesser (Ph.D. 1977, U. California San Diego)". The University of Memphis. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
74. "Jessie Mae Hemphill: Feelin' Good". Pop Matters. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
75. "The University of Memphis Remembers Civil Rights Leader Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
76. "Michael Leff". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on April 29, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
77. "Jennifer R. Mandel, Ph.D." The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on November 16, 2018. Retrieved November 16, 2018.
78. Centre News (February 5, 2020). "Centre College names Milton C. Moreland as its new president". Centre College. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
79. "World's Highest Mathematics Honor Goes to Retired U of M Professor". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on March 5, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
80. "Skloot's book climbing NYT's best-seller chart". The University of Memphis. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
81. "John Calipari on Kentucky basketball: Coachable players filled with bad habits". Carrier-Journal.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
82. "Ex-Memphis State Tigers basketball coach Dana Kirk dies". Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
83. "Josh Pastner". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
84. "Basketball Coach Tic Price Resigns". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
85. "University of Memphis bat boy Stan Bronson to celebrate 84th birthday at fundraising party". Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group. Retrieved March 10, 2013.