List of University of Memphis people

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.

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

Literature, arts, and media

 * Dixie Carter – actress
 * Eric Jerome Dickey – author
 * John Dye – actor
 * Johanna Edwards – bestselling novelist
 * Galen Fott – director and animator
 * Brian A. Hopkins – author
 * Jason Isbell – recording artist and songwriter, member of The 400 Unit and Drive-By Truckers
 * Michael Jeter – actor
 * Terry Manning – music producer, photographer
 * Wink Martindale – radio dj, radio personality, singer, game show host, television personality, television producer (BS 1957)
 * Gary Parrish – sports columnist, radio host and television analyst
 * Edmund Warren Perry Jr. – writer
 * Olan Rogers – comedian, actor, filmmaker, and YouTuber
 * William Sanderson – actor
 * Stella Stevens – actress
 * J. Karen Thomas – actress (Drop Dead Diva, Nashville)
 * Trenyce – singer, American Idol finalist

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
 * 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
 * Penny Hardaway – NBA
 * Jim Hardin – Major League Baseball pitcher, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves
 * 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
 * Andy Nelson – Baltimore Colts, NFL
 * Lloyd Patterson – Saskatchewan Roughriders
 * Ryan Peniston – British tennis player
 * Elliot Perry – Phoenix Suns, NBA
 * Derrick Rose – Chicago Bulls, NBA
 * Jack Smith – Philadelphia Eagles, NFL
 * Cliff Taylor – multiple teams, NFL
 * Adonis Thomas (born 1993) – basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * 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
 * Lorenzen Wright – multiple teams, NBA
 * Wayne Yates – Los Angeles Lakers, NBA

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
 * Miriam DeCosta-Willis – first African American faculty member at what was then Memphis State University
 * 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
 * Milton C. Moreland – archaeologist and president of Centre College
 * 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
 * Penny Hardaway – Memphis 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