List of Oklahoma State University people

There are more than 250,000 living Oklahoma State University alumni worldwide. Oklahoma State alumni include billionaire T. Boone Pickens, country music recording artist Garth Brooks, computer pioneer Dr. H. Edward Roberts, astronaut Wally Funk and South Korea Prime Minister Nam Duck-woo. Faculty and staff who are not alumni have also distinguished themselves and are included in this list.

Academia
* Some OSU alumni who have distinguished themselves in academia are included under other headings.
 * * George S. Benson, missionary, college administrator, conservative political activist and segregationist
 * Anita Hill, Government, Brandeis University
 * Ramchandran Jaikumar, Daewoo Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School
 * Linda Livingstone, President of Baylor University
 * Sidney A. McPhee, President of Middle Tennessee State University
 * Gene R. Nichol, former President of The College of William and Mary
 * J. Tinsley Oden, pioneer in the field of computational mechanics, one of the most highly cited researchers in the world
 * David Noel Ramírez Padilla, Rector, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education
 * John R. Rice, mathematician and computer scientist; founder of ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software; Professor at Purdue University
 * Steven A. Scott, ninth president of Pittsburg State University.

Arts, letters media and entertainment

 * Keith Anderson, country music singer, songwriter
 * John Ashley, producer (The A-Team, Walker, Texas Ranger); associate producer (Apocalypse Now: Redux)
 * Tomur Atagok, Turkish artist
 * Hoyt Axton, noted rock and folk singer-songwriter and actor
 * K. K. Barrett, production designer
 * Jason Boland, country music singer, songwriter
 * Garth Brooks, singer, songwriter and actor (the best-selling solo album artist in the United States and one of the best-selling artists of all time worldwide)
 * June Burn, pioneering magazine writer and author
 * Gary Busey, actor
 * Jaime Cardriche, actor (Malcolm & Eddie)
 * Ally Carter, born Sarah Fogleman, NY Times and USA Today bestselling author
 * Sarah Coburn, operatic soprano; daughter of senator Tom Coburn, also an OSU alumni
 * Jay Daniel, television producer
 * Burr DeBenning, film, television and stage actor
 * Ty England, country music singer
 * Dave Garrett, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys radio broadcaster
 * Doug Gottlieb, ESPN analyst and syndicated sports talk radio host
 * Chester Gould, creator of the Dick Tracy comic strip
 * Aaron Gwyn, American short story author and literary critic
 * Regina Holliday, artist, medical rights advocate
 * Helen Holmes, journalist, historian, and Women's Army Corps officer
 * Brandon Jenkins, singer-songwriter from Tulsa, Oklahoma; sang in the choir; taught himself guitar
 * Siddika Kabir, Bangladeshi cooking show host and cookbook author
 * Trey Kennedy, comedian, actor, singer
 * Joe King, country music singer-songwriter, and former NFL player, wrote and recorded Down In Stillwater Oklahoma
 * Ted Leitner, San Diego Padres radio broadcaster
 * Rex Linn, actor (best known as Frank Tripp in the television series CSI: Miami)
 * James Marsden, actor and model (attained global stardom with X-Men film series)
 * A. Frank Martin, musician, educator, and founding member of Kappa Kappa Psi
 * Sharron Miller, television producer, director, writer (first woman ever to win the coveted Directors Guild of America Award)
 * Pamela Morsi, USA Today bestselling author
 * Kinga Philipps, actor, television host
 * Steve Ripley, country-rock artist and guitarist
 * Lise Simms, television actress and designer
 * Larry Thompson, humor columnist, author
 * Watermelon Slim, born Bill Homans, blues artist
 * Emily Wickersham, NCIS, Sopranos, actress

Business

 * Minnie Lou Bradley, Class of 1953, first woman to graduate from OSU with a degree in animal husbandry; matriarch of Bradley 3 Ranch in Childress County, Texas
 * Gordon Eubanks, CEO and President of Symantec Corporation, makers of Norton AntiVirus
 * John D. Groendyke, CEO of Groendyke Transport
 * Clark Hallren, managing director of Clear Scope Partners, financial and strategic advisor for those in the media and entertainment industry; former managing director of the Entertainment Industries Group of JPMorgan Securities, Inc.
 * Frank A. McPherson, CEO of Kerr-McGee
 * Neal Patterson, CEO of Cerner Corporation
 * T. Boone Pickens, corporate tycoon; has donated over $235 million to OSU, including the renovation of the football stadium
 * William A. Scroggs, insurance agent; founder of Kappa Kappa Psi
 * M. B. "Bud" Seretean, former CEO of Coronet Industries, former general manager of the Atlanta Hawks
 * Sanjiv Sidhu, founder of software giants i2 Technologies, the disruptive first mover in supply-chain-management software, and o9 Solutions
 * Tambra Raye Stevenson, entrepreneur and nutritionist
 * Charles Watson, chairman, founder and CEO of energy giant Dynegy Corp.; owner of the Houston Aeros professional hockey team
 * Jerry Winchester, President and CEO of Boots & Coots International Well Control Inc.; CEO of Chesapeake Oilfield Services

Public affairs
M. John Kane, Chief Justice, Oklahoma Supreme Court
 * Yussur A.F. Abrar, Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia
 * Joe Allbaugh, former FEMA director (February 2001 to March 2003)
 * Adnan Badran, former Prime Minister of Jordan (also see academia section)
 * Henry Bellmon, former US Senator (R-OK) and first Republican Governor of Oklahoma
 * Francis Cherry, former Governor of Arkansas
 * Tom Coburn, US Senator (R-OK)
 * John W. Doucette, Brig. General, US Air Force
 * Nam Duck-woo, former Prime Minister of South Korea
 * Mary Fallin, former Governor of Oklahoma
 * Walter E. Fountain, United States Army Brigadier General, Assistant Adjutant General of the Oklahoma Army National Guard, acting deputy director of the Army National Guard
 * John Paul Hammerschmidt, former US Congressman, Arkansas
 * Ali Hamsa, former Chief Secretary to the Government of Malaysia
 * Alan J. Hawkins, Anglican bishop and COO of the Anglican Church in North America
 * Joel Hefley, US House, 5th District of Colorado
 * Anita Hill, American lawyer, professor and commentator
 * Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, Iranian diplomat and OPEC representative
 * Roger A. Lalich, U.S. National Guard general
 * Frank Lucas, US House, 3rd District of Oklahoma
 * Sidney Marks, Major General United States Army, All-American wrestler
 * Clem McSpadden, US House, Oklahoma
 * Markwayne Mullin, US Senator; former Congressman, Oklahoma
 * Don Nickles, former US Senator
 * William B. Oden, American Methodist Bishop
 * Abdisalam Omer, former Governor of the Central Bank of Somalia
 * Robert Dale Price, US House, Texas Panhandle
 * Jim Reese, former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives and commissioner of the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture
 * Virgil A. Richard, Brig. General, US Army
 * William Royer, former US Congressman, California
 * Ray L. Smith, Major General, retired United States Marine Corps; inductee of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame
 * Kevin Stitt, Current Governor of Oklahoma
 * Steven W. Taylor, Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice
 * Richard A. Waterfield, late State Representative from Canadian, Texas
 * Wes Watkins, former US House Representative, Oklahoma
 * Robert A. Whitney, Acting Surgeon General of the United States

Science, technology and engineering

 * Walter Clore, pioneer in Washington State wine growing; the "father of Washington wine"
 * Wally Funk First female FAA and NTSB inspector; one of the Mercury 13; oldest woman in space as of July 2021
 * Hellen Linkswiler (1939), nutrition scientist and dietician
 * Katherine O. Musgrave (1920–2015), professor emerita of food and nutrition, University of Maine
 * William Pogue, Ret. Colonel, USAF, NASA astronaut, pilot of Skylab 4
 * John R. Rice, mathematician and computer scientist; founder of ACM Transactions on Mathematical Software; Professor at Purdue University
 * Dr. H. Edward Roberts, engineer and inventor of the personal computer
 * Stuart Roosa, NASA astronaut, Apollo 14
 * Ingrid Skop, controversial pro-life obstetrician
 * Donald Sechrest (1956), golf course designer
 * Robert A. Whitney, Acting Surgeon General of the United States

For more Oklahoma State University graduates of distinction in the sciences, see the "Academia" section.

Sports

 * Jerry Adair, former MLB player and coach
 * Adnan Al-Kaissie, former pro wrestler and manager
 * Tony Allen, former NBA basketball player, New Orleans Pelicans
 * Dan Bailey, current NFL football player, Free Agent
 * Harold Bailey, NFL and CFL player
 * Scott Baker, former MLB pitcher, Minnesota Twins
 * Tatum Bell, former NFL football player
 * Bo Bowling, Montreal Alouettes player
 * Jordan Brailford, NFL outside linebacker, Washington Redskins
 * Jack Brisco, former pro wrestler, two-time former NWA World Heavyweight Champion
 * Jerry Brisco, former pro wrestler
 * Markel Brown (born 1992), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Rod Brown, All-American football player
 * Dez Bryant, former NFL wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys
 * Jeromy Burnitz, former MLB baseball player
 * Keith Burns, former NFL football player, Denver Broncos
 * Michael Cobbins (born 1992), basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Carrie-Lynn Cohen (born 1967), Canadian tennis player
 * Kelly Cook, former NFL football player, Green Bay Packers
 * Daniel Cormier, Olympic wrestler, NCAA runner-up, mixed martial artist, current UFC Light Heavyweight & Heavyweight Champion
 * Randy Couture, three-time All-American wrestler; Former UFC Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight Champion, and UFC Hall of Fame member
 * Mason Cox, current Australian rules football player with Collingwood of the Australian Football League
 * Kendall Cross, three-time All-American wrestler and won the NCAA National Championship in 1989, gold medalist in wrestling at 57 kg in 1996
 * Pete Darcey, former NBA basketball player
 * Gary Darnell, former college football coach
 * Alex Dieringer, three-time NCAA Champion wrestler
 * Marcus Dove, basketball player
 * Shane Drury, rodeo bull-rider who died prematurely from cancer
 * Danny Edwards, PGA Tour golfer
 * David Edwards, PGA Tour golfer
 * John Farrell, manager of 2013 World Series champion Boston Red Sox
 * Josh Fields, former MLB baseball player, Royals
 * Rickie Fowler, professional golfer
 * Don Frye, wrestled during OSU NCAA Championship in 1989, former mixed martial artist in Pride Fighting Championships and the UFC
 * Edward C. Gallagher, champion sprinter and football player, former wrestling coach; winningest coach in NCAA wrestling history, Olympic wrestling coach, National Wrestling Hall of Fame charter member
 * Reuben Gant, former NFL football player, Buffalo Bills
 * Walt Garrison, former Pro Bowl NFL football player, Dallas Cowboys
 * Vickie Gates, IFBB professional bodybuilder
 * Jason Gildon, former Pro Bowl NFL football player, Pittsburgh Steelers
 * Chad Glasgow, former defensive coordinator for the Texas Tech Red Raiders football team
 * Derrel Gofourth, former NFL football player, Green Bay Packers
 * Joey Graham, former NBA basketball player, Toronto Raptors
 * Mike Gundy, current head coach of Oklahoma State University football
 * Brent Guy, college football coach
 * Charlie Harper, former NFL football player, New York Giants
 * Bob Harris, former NBA player
 * Labron Harris, first golf coach at Oklahoma State University
 * Don Haskins, former NCAA men's basketball coach, University of Texas at El Paso, subject of the movie Glory Road
 * Mark Hayes, PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour golfer
 * Randy Heckenkemper, golf course architect
 * Johny Hendricks, retired professional mixed martial artist; former UFC Welterweight Champion; two-time NCAA Wrestling Champion (2005, 2006)
 * Anthony Hickey (born 1992), basketball player for Hapoel Haifa in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Rusty Hilger, former NFL football player, Detroit Lions
 * Morgan Hoffmann, professional golfer
 * Mike Holder, former men's golf coach and current athletic director
 * Joe Horlen, former MLB All-Star pitcher
 * Viktor Hovland, current PGA Tour golfer and FedEx Cup Champion
 * Charles Howell III, current PGA Tour golfer
 * Dick Hutton, former pro wrestler, former NWA World Heavyweight Champion
 * Henry Iba, NCAA and Olympic champion basketball coach, National Basketball Hall of Fame member
 * Moe Iba, former University of Nebraska basketball coach
 * Pete Incaviglia, former MLB baseball player, Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball newspaper College Baseball Player of the Century
 * Ed Jeffers, former professional football player
 * Charlie Johnson, current NFL player, Super Bowl Champion 2006 Indianapolis Colts
 * John Juanda, professional poker player, winner of 5 World Series of Poker bracelets
 * Howard N. "Sonny" Keys, NFL football player, Philadelphia Eagles 1960 World Champions (precursor to Super Bowl); coach of Cleveland Browns
 * Joe King, former NFL player, current country music singer-songwriter, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Las Vegas Raiders
 * Jon Kolb (offensive tackle) 4 time Super Bowl Champion, NFL Hall of Fame
 * Bob Kurland, basketball, two-time NCAA Champion, two-time Olympic Champion, Hall of Fame
 * Jacob Lacey, current NFL football player, Indianapolis Colts
 * Muhammed Lawal, MMA fighter
 * Sonny Liles, football player
 * John Little, former NFL football player, New York Jets
 * Edward Loar, professional golfer
 * John Lucas, current NBA basketball player, Houston Rockets
 * Hunter Mahan, PGA Tour golfer
 * Dexter Manley, former Pro Bowl NFL football player, Washington Redskins
 * Desmond Mason, former NBA basketball player, Oklahoma City Thunder
 * Caroline Masson, professional golfer
 * Aaron McConnell, football player
 * Leroy McGuirk, former pro wrestler and promoter; three-time NWA World Light Heavyweight Champion
 * R. W. McQuarters, former NFL football player, New York Giants
 * Bud Millikan, basketball coach of University of Maryland
 * Steve Mocco, 2005 NCAA Division I Champion at Heavyweight; 2008 Olympic team member; current professional MMA fighter
 * Kenny Monday, 3-time Olympic wrestler – 1988 welterweight gold medalist and 1992 welterweight silver medalist; 2x NCAA champion
 * Vernand Morency, current NFL football player, Green Bay Packers
 * Mark Muñoz, retired professional mixed martial artist, UFC middleweight, two-time wrestling All-American, NCAA Champion in 2001
 * Ray Murphy, Jr., former wrestler; developer of handicapped-assisting technologies; recipient of Medal of Courage from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
 * Le'Bryan Nash (born 1992), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Alexander Norén, professional golfer
 * Houston Nutt, current NCAA football head coach, University of Mississippi
 * Leslie O'Neal, former Pro Bowl NFL football player, San Diego Chargers
 * Bill Owen, former NFL football player, New York Giants
 * Frank Parker, former NFL football player, Cleveland Browns
 * Juqua Parker, former NFL football player, Philadelphia Eagles
 * Jim Parmer, former NFL football player, Philadelphia Eagles
 * Doyle Parrack, former NBA basketball player, and NCAA coach
 * Danny Perez, former MLB outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers
 * Kevin Peterson, American football player
 * Lenzy Pipkins, American football player
 * Dean Prater, former NFL football player, Buffalo Bills
 * Bryant Reeves, former NBA basketball player, Vancouver Grizzlies
 * Allie Reynolds, MLB pitcher
 * Shane Roller, three-time All-American wrestler; retired MMA fighter
 * Jake Rosholt, 3X NCAA champion wrestler, retired MMA fighter
 * Jared Rosholt, former NCAA All-American wrestler; professional mixed martial artist with the PFL
 * Rusty Ryal, current MLB infielder, Arizona Diamondbacks
 * James David "Buddy" Ryan, former NFL defensive coordinator (see: 46 Defense/Chicago Bears) and Head Coach
 * Barry Sanders, Heisman Trophy winner, former NFL football player, Detroit Lions; Hall of Famer
 * Luke Scott, current MLB outfielder, Baltimore Orioles
 * Dave Schultz (attended), 3x NCAA Champion, Olympic and world champion wrestler
 * Bill Self, current NCAA basketball head coach, University of Kansas; former head coach Oral Roberts University, University of Tulsa, University of Illinois
 * Jerry Sherk, former Pro Bowl NFL football player, Cleveland Browns
 * Jerry Slack, golf course architect
 * Marcus Smart, current NBA player for the Boston Celtics, 6th overall draft pick in 2014
 * Antonio Smith, former Pro Bowl NFL football player, Houston Texans
 * John Smith, current head coach of Oklahoma State University wrestling, 2X NCAA champion, 4X World and 2X Olympic gold medal winner, National Wrestling Hall of Fame member
 * Pat Smith, first four-time NCAA D1 Champion wrestler
 * John Starks, former Oklahoma State basketball player, former New York Knicks guard
 * Eddie Sutton, former men's basketball head coach at several schools, among them Oklahoma State
 * Scott Sutton, former head coach of Oral Roberts University basketball
 * Sean Sutton, former head coach of Oklahoma State University basketball
 * Lane Taylor, current NFL player, Green Bay Packers
 * Mickey Tettleton, former MLB baseball player
 * Doug Tewell, PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour golfer
 * Thurman Thomas, former NFL football player, Buffalo Bills; Hall of Famer
 * Leonard Thompson, former NFL football player, Detroit Lions
 * Jim Turner, NFL player
 * Orville Tuttle, former Pro Bowl NFL football player, New York Giants
 * Bob Tway, current PGA Tour golfer
 * Peter Uihlein, professional golfer
 * Robert (Bo) Van Pelt, professional golfer
 * Robin Ventura, former MLB baseball player
 * Scott Verplank, current PGA Tour golfer
 * Donnie Walton, current MLB infielder, Seattle Mariners
 * Gary Ward, former baseball coach
 * John Ward, former NFL football player, Minnesota Vikings
 * John Washington, former NFL football player, New York Giants
 * Lindy Waters III, former Oklahoma State basketball player, current Oklahoma City Thunder guard
 * Brian Watts, former PGA TOUR player
 * John Ray Webster, checkers champion
 * Brandon Weeden, current NFL football player, Dallas Cowboys
 * Reggie White, former NFL player
 * Darrell Williams (born 1989), basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Premier League
 * Darrent Williams, former NFL football player, Denver Broncos (d. 2007)
 * Jamal Williams, former Pro Bowl NFL football player, San Diego Chargers
 * Kevin Williams, current Pro Bowl NFL football player, Minnesota Vikings
 * Casey Wittenberg, current PGA Tour Golfer
 * Duane Wood, former AFL All-Star football player, Kansas City Chiefs
 * Rashaun Woods, former NFL football player, San Francisco 49ers
 * Kenyatta Wright, former NFL football player, New York Jets
 * Toby Wynn (2001), head women's basketball coach for Emporia State University

Notable former and current faculty

 * Girish Saran Agarwal, physicist
 * Ai, poet; member of OSU English faculty until her death
 * Hilton Briggs, President of South Dakota State University
 * Elliott D. Canonge, linguist specializing in Native American cultures
 * Robert P. Celarier, leading botanist and agrostologist
 * Alfred Corn, poet
 * Angie Debo, leading historian of Oklahoma and Native Americans; curator of maps for Oklahoma A&M library, 1947–1955; left her papers to OSU Library
 * J. Frank Dobie, author; folklorist; taught English at OSU; most remembered for his service at the University of Texas at Austin
 * Brian Evenson, academic and writer of both literary fiction and popular fiction
 * Wolt Fabrycky, industrial engineering scholar
 * Bryan P. Glass, mammalogist
 * Elbert Glover, public health expert
 * Edward Goljan, medical educator
 * Toni Graham, American fiction writer
 * Jack Harlan, agronomist
 * Riffat Hassan, Pakistani-American religious scholar notable for her studies of Islamic feminism
 * Helen Holmes, journalist, historian, and Women's Army Corps officer
 * William Jaco, mathematician; discovered the JSJ decomposition
 * George Judge, economist
 * Subhash Kak, computer scientist and public intellectual
 * Sheldon Katz, mathematician and string theorist (now at the University of Illinois)
 * Nicholas A. Kotov, noted chemical engineering professor (now professor at University of Michigan)
 * Edmon Low, pioneering university librarian
 * Bohumil Makovsky, director of bands; "the Guiding Spirit of Kappa Kappa Psi"
 * Robert W. MacVicar, former President of Oregon State University
 * J. Tinsley Oden, pioneering scholar of engineering (now at University of Texas)
 * Aimee Parkison, short story writer and novelist
 * Christine Salmon, American architect
 * Mike Sowell, journalist and sportswriter
 * Robert Sternberg, one of the twenty most-cited psychologists of the 20th century
 * N.V.V.J. Swamy, mathematical physicist
 * Paul J. Tikalsky, American civil engineer
 * Elsayed Elsayed Wagih, inventor of the zymoblot
 * Joseph W. Westphal, political scientist, educator, and former United States Under Secretary of the Army

Former and current athletic staff

 * Larry Coker, former coach of University of Miami
 * Butch Davis, former coach of University of Miami and Cleveland Browns
 * Rickie Fowler, current player in the PGA
 * Edward C. Gallagher, former wrestling and track and field coach, physical education professor and athletic director
 * Leonard Hamilton, current coach of Florida State Seminoles basketball
 * Henry Iba, former basketball coach and athletic director
 * Jimmy Johnson, current Fox sports analyst; former coach of Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins; spokesman for Extenze
 * Les Miles, current head football coach of LSU
 * Doyle Parrack, won national basketball championship under Henry Iba in 1945; assistant coach under Iba; head women's basketball coach, 1978–80
 * Oail Andrew "Bum" Phillips, NFL Head Coach of Houston Oilers; assistant coach under Jim Stanley
 * Eddie Sutton, former basketball coach (also alumnus)
 * Dave Wannstedt, current coach of Pittsburgh Panthers; former coach of Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins