List of University of Memphis people

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 – politician who has represented the 5th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2016
• Thomas G. Carpenter – former President of the University of Memphis
• Robert N. Clement – former U.S. Congressman
• Bernice Donald – judge, United States district court
• John Ford – Tennessee politician
• Tre Hargett- Secretary of State, Tennessee
• Willie Herenton – Mayor, City of Memphis
• Ed Jackson – Republican state senator
• James F. Kyle – State Senator, Tennessee Legislature
• David Lillard – Tennessee state treasurer since 2009
• Ed McAteer – leader of the Christian right and founder of the Religious Roundtable; attended but did not graduate
• Curtis S. Person, Jr. – former State Senator, Tennessee Legislature
• Van B. Poole – former member of both houses of the Florida Legislature
• J. Millard Smith – former President of the University of Memphis
• Jim Strickland – mayor of Memphis
• Fred Thompson – actor and former U.S. Senator

  Literature, arts, and media

• Dixie Carter – actress
• Kellye Cash – Miss America 1987
• Eric Jerome Dickey – author
• John Dye – actor
• Johanna Edwards – bestselling novelist
• Galen Fott — director and animator
• Barbara Walker Hummel – Miss America 1947
• Jason Isbell – recording artist and songwriter, member of The 400 Unit and Drive-By Truckers
• Michael Jeter - actor
• Dickey Lee – recording artist and songwriter
• Terry Manning – music producer, photographer
• Les McCurdy - Stand Up Comedian, producer, owner McCurdys Comedy Theatre & Humor Institute Sarasota Fl. Est. 1988
• Gary Parrish – sports columnist, radio host and television analyst
• Edmund Warren Perry, Jr. – writer
• William Sanderson – actor
• Lynda Mead Shea – Miss America 1960
• J. Karen Thomas – actress
• Pat Kerr Tigrett – fashion designer
• Trenyce – singer, American Idol finalist
• White $osa - rapper
• Cara Notestine - Photographer

  Business

• Melissa Arnoldi – President of Technology and Operations, AT&T
• Martin Belz – President of Belz Enterprises
• William Dunavant – Chairman of Dunavant Enterprises
• R. Brad Martin – Chairman of the Board/CEO, Saks Incorporated

  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
• Mike Butler – professional basketball player with New Orleans Buccaneers and Utah Stars
• 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
• Anfernee Hardaway – NBA
• 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
• Lloyd Patterson – Saskatchewan Roughriders
• Elliot Perry – Phoenix Suns, NBA
• Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls, NBA
• Harry Schuh – All-American Tackle, played for Oakland Raiders, LA Rams and Green Bay Packers
• Jack Smith – Philadelphia Eagles, NFL
• Cliff Taylor – multiple teams, NFL
• 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
• Keith Wright – NFL, Cleveland Browns
• Lorenzen Wright – multiple teams, NBA
• Wayne Yates – Los Angeles Lakers, NBA
• Jim Hardin - Baltimore Orioles New York Yankees Atlanta Braves Major League Baseball Pitcher

  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
• 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
• 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
• 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