List of Sacramento State people

This is a list of encyclopedic persons (students, alumni, faculty, staff, or academic affiliates) associated with California State University, Sacramento (Sacramento State).

Television and movies

 * Carlos Alazraqui – actor, comedian – Reno 911!
 * Jeffrey Boam (B.A. in Art) – screenwriter, producer
 * Creed Bratton – actor, The Office
 * Antoinette "Butterscotch" Clinton, finalist, America's Got Talent, season 2
 * Kurt Caceres – actor
 * Joe Carnahan (B.A. in Filmography) – film director, Smokin' Aces, The A-Team
 * Ryan Coogler (BS in Business Administration (Finance))– director of 2015 film Creed and Black Panther
 * Giselle Fernández (B.A. in Journalism and Government) – former KTLA Morning News anchor
 * Joseph Gutheinz (B.A. and M.A. in Criminal Justice) – retired attorney, appears in documentaries Moon for Sale and The Case of the Missing Moon Rocks
 * Tom Hanks – Academy Award-winning film actor, director and producer
 * Kristine Hanson (B.A. Communications, 1974) – television broadcaster, Playboy Playmate of the Month
 * Joanna Hernandez – season one of the Bad Girls Club and winner of season one of For the Love of Ray J
 * Lester Holt (B.A. Government) – anchor for flagship broadcast NBC Nightly News, host of Dateline and co-anchor of weekend edition of Today
 * Karen Kilgariff – co-host of podcast My Favorite Murder, former head writer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show and The Rosie Show
 * Kayden Kross – adult film actress
 * Joan Lunden (formerly known as Joanie Blunden) (B.A. Liberal Arts) – television personality, former co-host of Good Morning America
 * Bridget Marquardt (B.A. Public Relations, 1998) – girlfriend of Hugh Hefner, featured on E! TV show The Girls Next Door
 * Brian Posehn – stand-up comedian
 * Rick Rossovich – actor, The Terminator, Top Gun, Roxanne
 * Billy Marshall Stoneking (B.A. English, minor Philosophy, 1970) – Australian/American poet, filmmaker, writer, script editor and teacher
 * Graham Streeter (BA Japanese and Business Administration) – screenwriter, film director
 * Rene Syler (BA Psychology, 1987) – television personality, former host of The Early Show on CBS
 * Shauvon Torres – cast member of The Real World, Sydney
 * Matt Dearborn - Creator of Even Stevens

Musicians

 * Chi Cheng – bassist
 * Baldwin Chiu – actor, rapper as (Only Won)
 * David Hodo (B.A. in Speech, 1969) – member of Village People
 * Richard Maloof – musician
 * Bobby McFerrin – composer and Grammy Award-winning musician ("Don't Worry, Be Happy")
 * Charlie Peacock – singer
 * Steve Turre – musician on Saturday Night Live

Fine artists

 * Fred Uhl Ball (BA and MA Art) – enamelist
 * Jack Cassinetto (BA Art and English, 1966) – plein air painter
 * Michael Patrick Cronan (BA Fine Arts 1974) – graphic designer and artist
 * Xiomara De Oliver (BA 1988) – Canadian Black painter.
 * Mel Ramos (BA and MA, 1957) – artist
 * Fritz Scholder (BA 1960) – Native American artist
 * Wayne Thiebaud – artist and painter

Politicians and government

 * Janice Rogers Brown – Federal Appeals Court judge
 * Christopher Cabaldon (Master's Public Policy and Administration 1994)– West Sacramento Mayor
 * Edward Chavez – Mayor of Stockton 2005–09
 * Lloyd Connelly – Sacramento County Judge
 * Ward Connerly (BA Government, 1962) – former University of California regent and political activist
 * Mervyn Dymally (MA Government) – Lieutenant Governor of California 1975–79, U.S. Representative 1981–93, Assemblyman 2002–08
 * Bill Emmerson – California State Senator
 * Noreen Evans – California State Assemblywoman
 * Victor H. Fazio – U.S. Congressman 1979–99
 * Bradford Fenocchio (BA Criminal Justice) – Placer County District Attorney
 * Cathleen Galgiani – California State Assemblywoman
 * Wally Herger – U.S. Congressman 1987–2013
 * Karen Humphrey (MA Public Policy and Women's Studies) – Mayor of Fresno 1989–93
 * Phil Isenberg – Assemblyman 1982–96, Mayor of Sacramento 1975–82
 * Grantland Johnson – former California Cabinet official
 * Patrick Johnston – former California State Legislator
 * Bill Leonard – former State Board of Equalization Member and legislator
 * Lloyd Levine – former California State Assemblyman
 * Daniel Logue – California State Assemblyman
 * Kevin McCarthy – alumnus of school's Capital Fellows Program, U.S. Congressman for California's 23rd congressional district
 * Kevin McCarty (Master's Public Policy and Administration 2011)- California State Assemblyman
 * Cathy Mitchell – former Acting California Secretary of State
 * Don Nottoli – Sacramento County Supervisor, 5th district
 * George A. Plescia – former California State Assemblyman
 * Richard Rainey – former California State Senator
 * Robert Rivas - incoming speaker of the California State Assembly
 * Jan Scully – Sacramento County District Attorney
 * Joe Serna – Mayor of Sacramento 1992–99
 * Frank Skartados – New York State Assemblyman, 2009–11 and 2013–18
 * Lori Wilson - CA State Assemblymember 2022-present

International politicians

 * Fernando Chui – Chief Executive of Macau
 * Rudolf Hommes – Colombian politician and academic
 * Mahmoud Vaezi – Chief of Staff of the President of Iran

Business

 * Dale Carlsen – Sleep Train Mattress Centers founder


 * Doug Lipp (MA in International Business Communications) – consultant, speaker, author, CEO and president of G. Douglas Lipp & Associates


 * Angelo Tsakopoulos (BA Government, BS Business Administration, Honorary Doctorate in Human Letters) – real estate mogul

Authors and academics

 * Ann Bannon – lesbian pulp fiction author, professor
 * JaNay Brown-Wood, children's book author
 * Russ Buettner — Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for The New York Times
 * Raymond Carver – fiction author, poet, screenwriter
 * Richard Ebeling (BA in Economics) – libertarian author, President of Foundation for Economic Education
 * John Fund - American political journalist, currently national-affairs reporter for National Review Online
 * Chester Gorman – anthropologist
 * Marisa Kelly (BA in 1986) - political scientist and President of Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts
 * Janet Nichols Lynch – writer and professor
 * Mary Mackey – fiction author, poet, screenwriter, and professor Emeritus (English)
 * Richard J. Maybury – economist and author on topics of international business, law, history, juris naturalism
 * Laura Moriarty – poet and novelist
 * Alan Reynolds – economist and author
 * Tukufu Zuberi – professor and Chairman of Sociology Department, University of Pennsylvania

Other notables

 * Anthony Sadler, assisted in thwarting 2015 French train terror attack.

Baseball

 * Scott Burcham – American-Israeli baseball shortstop in the Colorado Rockies organization
 * Rhys Hoskins (born 1993) - first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers
 * Ethan Katz (born 1983) - pitching coach for the Chicago White Sox
 * Sam Long (born 1995) - baseball pitcher for the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics
 * Nathan Lukes (born 1994) - outfielder for the Toronto Blue Jays
 * Buck Martinez – 17-year MLB catcher and later an MLB manager
 * Alyssa Nakken - the first female coach in Major League Baseball
 * James Outman - outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers

Basketball

 * Cody Demps (born 1993) - basketball player for New Taipei CTBC DEA of the T1 League
 * Nick Hornsby (born 1995) - basketball player for Eisbären Bremerhaven of the ProA
 * Joel Jones (born 1981) – member of the Puerto Rican national basketball team
 * Joshua Patton (born 1997) - basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League

Football
Softball
 * Otis Amey – wide receiver for San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Cleveland Gladiators, Austin Wranglers, Sacramento Mountain Lions
 * McLeod Bethel-Thompson – quarterback for Minnesota Vikings
 * DaRon Bland – NFL cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys; named First-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler in 2023, also led NFL in interceptions in 2023
 * DeAndre Carter – NFL wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders, previously played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, Chicago Bears, Washington Football Team, and Los Angeles Chargers
 * Mike Carter – former NFL wide receiver
 * Marko Cavka – offensive lineman for Hamilton Tiger-Cats of Canadian Football League
 * Dan Chamberlain – played for Buffalo Bills
 * Elijah Dotson – NFL running back for the Los Angeles Chargers
 * Jeff Fleming – former Sacramento State player
 * Aaron Garcia – quarterback for Jacksonville Sharks of AF1
 * John Gesek – former National Football League offensive lineman
 * Tyronne Gross – running back for San Diego Chargers
 * Cole Hikutini – tight end for the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League, previously played in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers
 * Jon Kirksey – defensive tackle, New Orleans Saints, St. Louis Rams
 * Lorenzo Lynch – former NFL defensive back
 * Marte Mapu – NFL linebacker for the New England Patriots, 2022 Big Sky Defensive Player of the Year
 * Zack Nash – linebacker for Arizona Cardinals 2012
 * Lonie Paxton – lineman for Denver Broncos
 * Ricky Ray – quarterback for Toronto Argonauts of Canadian Football League
 * Charles Roberts – running back for B.C. Lions of Canadian Football League
 * Darnell Sankey – linebacker for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League, previously played in the NFL for the Indianapolis Colts
 * Kato Serwanga – NFL cornerback from 1998–2003
 * Wasswa Serwanga – NFL cornerback from 1999–2003
 * Daimon Shelton – nine-year NFL fullback
 * Taylor Tappin – offensive lineman who played for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League
 * Kevin Thomson - quarterback for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League
 * Alyssa Nakken – first female coach in MLB for the San Francisco Giants

Soccer

 * Joe Enochs (born 1971) – former professional soccer player
 * Jamel Mitchell (born 1975) – Major League Soccer player
 * Benji Kikanović (born 2000) - Major League Soccer player

Sports figures (non-athletes)

 * Darren Arbet – coach for San Jose SaberCats of AFL
 * Clancy Barone – tight ends coach for Minnesota Vikings, offensive line coach for Denver Broncos
 * Pat Doyle – baseball coach
 * Brian Katz – Sacramento State men's basketball coach
 * Greg Knapp – quarterbacks coach
 * Mike Lange – sports broadcaster and member of Hockey Hall of Fame

Current

 * J. Luke Wood – University president
 * Joseph Palermo – associate professor of history, author
 * Mona L. Siegel – professor of history
 * Stephanie Brown Trafton – athletics coach, Olympic gold medalist
 * Michael G. Vann – professor of history

Emeritus

 * Ann Bannon – Professor of English, Associate Dean in College of Arts and Sciences
 * Paul Goldstene – Professor of Government
 * Stephen L. Harris – Professor and Chair of Humanities and Religious Studies
 * Wes Jackson – Professor of Environmental Sciences
 * Frank Kofsky – Professor of History
 * Mary Mackey – professor of English and Writer-in-Residence
 * Joe Serna, Jr. – Professor of Government
 * Miklos Udvardy – Professor of Biological Sciences
 * Angus Wright – Professor of Environmental Sciences

Former

 * Maya Angelou – poet, professor
 * Bob Barney – Professor of physical education (1969–70)
 * Peter Grandbois – Professor of English 2006–2010
 * Paul Carter Harrison – Professor of Theatre (1970–1972)
 * Enrique Herrscher – Fulbright Professor in Residence of Economics
 * R. Joseph Hoffmann – Professor of Humanities and Religious Studies
 * Oliver Lee Jackson – Professor in Pan African Studies, 1971 to 2002
 * Joanne Marrow – Professor of Psychology of Women and Human Sexuality, 1974 to the 2000s
 * Virginia Matzek – Professor in Environmental Studies and Sciences
 * Charles Postel – 2008 Bancroft Prize recipient and Frederick Jackson Turner Award recipient, Professor of History

Adjunct

 * Phil Isenberg – Graduate School of Public Policy
 * Barry Keene – former State Senator, Professor of Government

Former administrators

 * Alexander Gonzalez - former University president
 * W. Lloyd Johns – former University president; president of Gallaudet University
 * Jolene Koester – former Professor of Communication Studies followed by Provost; President of California State University, Northridge
 * Robert S. Nelsen - former University president