List of New Mexico State University people

This is a list of notable people affiliated with New Mexico State University.

Faculty and staff

 * Reta Beebe - professor emeritus in the Astronomy Department, best known for participation in the Voyager mission
 * David Boje - author; current NMSU endowed Bank of America professor of management
 * Garrey Carruthers - former NMSU President and Dean of College of Business; former governor of New Mexico
 * David Clements - conspiracy theorist
 * James Cuffey - former professor in astronomy, known for photoelectric photometry
 * Frank Harary - mathematician, specialized in graph theory
 * Delano Lewis - founding director of New Mexico State University's International Relations Institute
 * Mark Medoff - playwright, screenwriter, film and theatre director, actor, and professor
 * Antonya Nelson - English professor at NMSU; author
 * Burl Noggle - professor, American historian
 * Cyrus Nowrasteh - screenwriter and director
 * Fred T. Plog, III-archaeologist, anthropologist, author
 * Gerald W. Thomas - NMSU President Emeritus, 1970–1984
 * Edward O. Thorp - mathematician best known for writing the book Beat the Dealer and co-inventing the first wearable computer; Associate Professor of Mathematics 1961–65
 * Clyde Tombaugh - astronomer best known for his discovery of Pluto; former professor of astronomy
 * Lou Henson - former NMSU Basketball Head Coach
 * Jerry Kill - NMSU Football Head Coach
 * Frank Alan Ward - Distinguished Professor in the College of Agriculture, Consumer, and Environmental Science; 2022 DARE Hall of Fame Award; Colorado State University: Lifetime Achievement Award, 2022.

Science, medicine, and technology

 * Arlan Andrews - mechanical engineer and science fiction author
 * John A. D. Cooper - physician and educator
 * Stuart Pimm - theoretical ecologist and conservation biologist.
 * Alan Hale - astronomer famous for discovering the Hale-Bopp Comet
 * Bill Inmon - computer scientist, recognized as the father of data warehouse
 * Paul W. Klipsch - audio pioneer; founder of Klipsch and Associates; namesake of the Klipsch School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at NMSU
 * Jaron Lanier - writer, computer scientist, composer, and virtual reality pioneer
 * Kathy Lueders - engineer, NASA Associate Administrator of Human Exploration and Operations (HEO)
 * Rose Marie Pangborn - scientist, pioneer in the sensory analysis of food
 * Harold Reitsema - astronomer, part of the teams that discovered Larissa and Telesto
 * Mark W. Spong - roboticist; Dean of Erik Jonsson School of Engineering & Computer Science at the University of Texas at Dallas
 * Paul Carpenter Standley - botanist
 * Sarah Stewart - research scientist, pioneer in the field of viral oncology, co-discovered the first polyomavirus

Law, politics, military and government

 * Norma Bixby - member of the Montana House of Representatives
 * Donald Bratton - politician
 * William Burt - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
 * Michael L. Connor - United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
 * David Coss - US politician and former mayor of Santa Fe, New Mexico
 * Lee Cotter - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
 * Candy Ezzell - Republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
 * Edgar Franklin Foreman, Jr. - motivational speaker in Dallas who served one term in the United States House of Representatives
 * Gregory J. Fouratt - former United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico
 * Chuck Franco - game warden, police officer, undersheriff, current First Gentleman of New Mexico
 * Mary Helen Garcia - Democratic member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
 * Mary Jane Garcia - former member of the New Mexico Senate
 * Ron Griggs - politician
 * David Campos Guaderrama - United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas
 * Gary King - Attorney General of New Mexico
 * Greg Lopez - U.S. Representative from Colorado
 * Lester Lyles - former Air Force general, Chairman of the Board for USAA
 * Patrick H. Lyons - politician from New Mexico
 * John McEneny - politician
 * Ken Miyagishima - mayor of Las Cruces, New Mexico
 * Howie Morales - Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate
 * Steven Neville - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
 * Steve Pearce - US Representative for New Mexico
 * Renee Schulte - Iowa State Representative
 * William Sharer - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
 * Roosevelt Skerrit - Prime Minister of Dominica Attended but graduated from Mississippi
 * William Soules - Democratic member of the New Mexico Senate
 * James Edward Wharton - United States Army Brigadier General, killed in action during World War II
 * Pat Woods - Republican member of the New Mexico Senate
 * Bob Wooley - Republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives

Business

 * Kevin Johnson - CEO of Starbucks Corporation
 * Dave Lopez - telecommunications executive

Academia, arts, and literature

 * Lee K. Abbott - writer; professor emeritus of English at Ohio State University
 * Subhankar Banerjee - photographer, author and activist
 * Denise Chavez - author, playwright and stage director
 * Upile Chisala - poet
 * Leroy Quintana - poet, Vietnam veteran
 * Larry Torres - linguist and lecturer on Southwestern culture
 * Martin Guevara Urbina - writer, professor, and researcher; as a sociologist and criminologist, works on Latina and Latino issues in the United States

Athletics

 * Willie Adams - former NFL defensive end
 * Andre Anderson - former CFL defensive tackle for the BC Lions
 * Pervis Atkins - NFL running back, played for the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders
 * Leo Barker - NFL linebacker, played for the Cincinnati Bengals
 * Greg Bearman - CFL defensive back
 * Rich Beem - professional golfer with a three PGA Tour wins including 2002 PGA Championship
 * Jim Bostic - NBA forward
 * Randy Brown - NBA guard
 * Bart Bryant - professional golfer with three PGA Tour wins
 * Tom Byrum - professional golfer with one PGA Tour win
 * Joe Campbell - NFL defensive end, played for the New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers
 * Steve Colter - NBA guard
 * Charlie Criss - NBA guard
 * Andy Dorris - NFL defensive end, played for the St. Louis Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Houston Oilers
 * Andre Francis - former FL defensive back
 * Bob Gaiters - NFL running back, played for the NY Giants, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos
 * Roy Gerela - NFL placekicker, played for the Houston Oilers, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Diego Chargers
 * Jim Germany - CFL running back, played for the Edmonton Eskimos, was an All-Star and part of 5 Grey Cup championship teams
 * Jonte Green - NFL cornerback for the Detroit Lions
 * Duriel Harris - NFL wide receiver, played for the Miami Dolphins
 * Steve Haskins - professional golfer with two Web.com Tour wins
 * Lou Henson - former coach of New Mexico State and University of Illinois men's basketball
 * Davon House - NFL defensive back for the Green Bay Packers
 * Bobby Humphrey - NFL wide receiver, played for the NY Jets and Denver Broncos
 * Martin Iti - basketball player
 * Bob Jackson - former NFL running back
 * Charley Johnson - NFL quarterback, played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Oilers and Denver Broncos ; full professor of Chemical Engineering at NMSU; member of the Denver Broncos Ring of Honor
 * Walter Johnson - NFL defensive lineman, played for the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals; three-time Pro Bowl (1967, 1968, 1969); member of the College Football Hall of Fame
 * LaTraia Jones - football coach; former player at University of Wyoming
 * Reggie Jordan - NBA guard
 * Sam Lacey - NBA center
 * Billy Ray Locklin - former CFL defensive lineman
 * Kerry Locklin - college football coach
 * Denvis Manns - football running back, famous for rushing for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons in college
 * Anita Maxwell - former WNBA forward for the Cleveland Rockers, only basketball player (male or female) in school history to have her uniform number (40) retired
 * Kyle Nelson - NFL long snapper
 * Michael New - former basketball player and coach of the Milton Keynes Lions
 * Jerry Nuzum - NFL running back, played for the Pittsburgh Steelers
 * Cliff Olander - gridiron football quarterback
 * J. R. Patton - stock car racing driver
 * Buck Pierce - CFL quarterback, played for the BC Lions and Winnipeg Blue Bombers
 * Joe Pisarcik - NFL quarterback, played for the New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles; best remembered for his role in a 1978 play that has since been referred to as "The Fumble" by NY Giants fans and "The Miracle at the Meadowlands" by Philadelphia Eagles fans
 * Ron Porterfield - Major League Baseball athletic trainer
 * Tony Sanchez - head football coach at UNLV
 * Joe Schmiesing - former NFL defensive lineman, played for the St. Louis Cardinals
 * Siddeeq Shabazz - Canadian Football League linebacker
 * Alena Sharp - professional golfer on the LPGA Tour
 * Pascal Siakam - NBA forward, NBA championship in 2019 with Toronto Raptors
 * Danny Villanueva - NFL placekicker, played for the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys. Media entertainment entrepreneur
 * Gary Ward - former baseball coach for Oklahoma State University and New Mexico State University
 * Walt Williams - NFL cornerback, played for the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears
 * John Williamson - NBA guard
 * Tony Wragge - former NFL offensive lineman for various teams
 * Jahmar Young (born 1986) - basketball player in the Israeli National League
 * Fredd Young - NFL linebacker; played for the Seattle Seahawks and Indianapolis Colts; four-time Pro Bowler (1984, 1985, 1986, 1987); two-time All-Pro (1984, 1987); member of the Seattle Seahawks 35th Anniversary Team
 * Jahmar Young - NBA guard
 * Jannah Sonnenschein (born 1996) - Dutch–Mozambican swimmer

Entertainment, film, news and television

 * Scott Bailey - actor
 * David James Baker - filmmaker
 * Baxter Black - cowboy poet; radio and television commentator
 * Kira Davis - film producer
 * William Frankfather - actor
 * Barbara Funkhouser - journalist, first woman to serve as editor of the El Paso Times (1980–1986)
 * Alvy Ray Smith - co-founder of Pixar
 * Brittany Toll - Miss New Mexico 2011
 * Franc Luz - Movie and Television Actor

Other

 * Jorge A. Rojas - general authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
 * Clara Belle Williams (1885–1994) - first African-American graduate of the university (English, 1937)