From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This list of West Virginia University alumni includes notable people from published sources that previously attended
West Virginia University .
Arts and entertainment
Emily Calandrelli ,
science communicator and aerospace engineer, on a reduced-gravity flight
Don Knotts , five-time
Emmy Award -winning actor best known for his role as
Barney Fife on
The Andy Griffith Show
Michael Ammar – world-renowned magician; WVU Distinguished Alumni Award winner 2003
Emily Calandrelli – science communicator, host and producer for Netflix's Emily's Wonder Lab and children's STEM science programming block
Xploration Station
Paul Dooley – actor, writer, comedian
Conchata Ferrell – actress; known for playing Berta the housekeeper on the
CBS
sitcom
Two and a Half Men
Antoine Fuqua – director of Training Day , Shooter , Replacement Killers ; attended, but did not graduate
Steve Harvey – Emmy-winning host of
Family Feud ; attended, but did not graduate
Cheryl Hines – actress, Curb Your Enthusiasm ; attended but did not graduate
Mike Hodge (B.A. in journalism, minor in theater) – actor and actors' labor union executive; former President of
SAG-AFTRA New York local
[1]
Taylor Kinney – actor; portrays Lt. Kelly Severide in
NBC 's
drama
Chicago Fire ; stars in
The Other Woman
Don Knotts – television and movie actor
Richard Kuranda – theatrical producer and artistic director
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center ,
Signature Theatre Company ,
Raue Center for the Arts
Billy Mays – television advertiser featured on
Discovery Channel 's
PitchMen and known for promoting several
as seen on TV products; attended but did not graduate; died in 2009
[2]
Kathleen Noone – portrays
Edna Wallace on the
NBC
soap opera
Passions ; known to have attended
[3]
Ben Reed – actor; played quarterback for the West Virginia University football team
John A. Russo – screenwriter and film director; co-wrote
Night of the Living Dead
[4]
Chris Sarandon – television and movie actor, voice of Jack Skellington
David Selby – actor
Athletics
Joe Alexander
Da'Sean Butler
Ashley Lawrence
Tarik Phillip
Joe Alexander – American-Israeli current professional basketball player for
Maccabi Tel Aviv
Michael Baker –
football player
Terry Bowden – Yahoo sports analyst
Tommy Bowden – former head football coach for Clemson University and Tulane University
John Browning – former NFL defensive tackle for the
Kansas City Chiefs
Marc Bulger – former NFL quarterback for the
St. Louis Rams ,
New Orleans Saints , and
Baltimore Ravens
Da'Sean Butler (born 1987) – basketball player for
Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the
Israeli Premier League
Niccolò Campriani – Olympic gold and silver medal-winning sport shooter; won gold in the
men's 50 metre rifle three positions and silver in the
men's 10 metre air rifle at the
2012 Summer Olympics
Mike Compton – two-time Super Bowl Champion and former NFL guard for the
Detroit Lions ,
New England Patriots , and
Jacksonville Jaguars
[5]
Devin Ebanks – professional basketball player
James "Clayster" Eubanks – professional
Call of Duty player, two-time
Call of Duty Championship winner
D'or Fischer (born 1981) – American-Israeli basketball player in the
Israeli National League
Mike Gansey – former basketball player in the NBA Development League; current assistant general manager of the
Cleveland Cavaliers
[6]
Jedd Gyorko – current second baseman for the
St. Louis Cardinals
Major Harris – quarterback for West Virginia University in their 1988 undefeated season
Sue Haywood – professional
mountain bike racer
Johannes "Joe" Herber – former professional and
German international basketball player
Chris Henry – former NFL wide receiver for the
Cincinnati Bengals
Jeff Hostetler – Super Bowl Champion and former NFL quarterback for the
Washington Redskins ,
Oakland Raiders , and
New York Giants ; starting quarterback in
Super Bowl XXV
Chuck Howley – former NFL linebacker for the
Chicago Bears and
Dallas Cowboys , and
Super Bowl V MVP
Sam Huff – former NFL linebacker; inducted into the
Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982
Bob Huggins – former head coach of the West Virginia University men's basketball team and former West Virginia University basketball player
Rodney Clark "Hot Rod" Hundley – former NBA basketball player for the
Minneapolis/Los Angeles Lakers ; first pick in the
1957 NBA draft
Hal Hunter – football coach
Bruce Irvin – Super Bowl Champion and current NFL linebacker for the
Seattle Seahawks
James Jett – Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter and former NFL wide receiver for
Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders
Adam "Pacman" Jones – NFL cornerback, currently a free agent
Greg Jones – three-time NCAA Division 1 wrestling champion, 2005 Most Outstanding Wrestler award winner, former associate head coach for the West Virginia University wrestling team,
[7] current
Blackzilians wrestling coach
[8]
Brian Jozwiak – former NFL offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs
Ken Kendrick – owner of the
Arizona Diamondbacks of
Major League Baseball
Steve Kline – former Major League Baseball pitcher
Ellis Lankster – current NFL cornerback for the
New York Jets
[9]
Ashley Lawrence – soccer player for the
Canada national team
Oliver Luck – former NFL quarterback, athletic director of West Virginia University, first Commissioner of the
XFL , president/general manager of the
Houston Dynamo , father of
Andrew Luck
[10]
Billy Joe Mantooth – former NFL linebacker for the
Houston Oilers
Pat McAfee – former NFL punter for the
Indianapolis Colts
Casey Mitchell (born 1988) – basketball player for
Elitzur Ashkelon of the
Israeli Basketball Premier League
Dan Mozes – 2006
Rimington Trophy winner
Adrian Murrell – former running back for New York Jets
Solomon Page – former NFL offensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys and
San Diego Chargers
Tarik Phillip (born 1993) – British-American basketball player in the
Israel Basketball Premier League
Kevin Pittsnogle – former basketball player in the NBA Development League
Adrian Pledger (born 1976) – basketball player
Jerry Porter – former NFL wide receiver for the
Oakland Raiders and
Jacksonville Jaguars
Wil Robinson – former
ABA basketball player; All-American at West Virginia
Rich Rodriguez – former head football coach of the University of Michigan; current head football coach of the University of Arizona
Todd Sauerbrun – former All-Pro NFL punter (five different teams)
Owen Schmitt – former NFL fullback for the
Seattle Seahawks ,
Philadelphia Eagles , and
Oakland Raiders
Floyd B. "Ben" Schwartzwalder – former head coach of the 1959 National Championship Syracuse University football team
Heath Slater – professional wrestler, former wrestler at WVU
Steve Slaton – former NFL running back for the
Houston Texans and
Miami Dolphins ; current
CFL running back for the
Toronto Argonauts
Dave Stephenson – former NFL guard for the
Los Angeles Rams and
Green Bay Packers
Darryl Talley – West Virginia University all-time team member and former NFL Linebacker for the
Buffalo Bills
Rod Thorn – former NBA and
ABA basketball player and current President of Basketball Operation for the NBA
John Thornton – former NFL defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals
Virginia Thrasher – current WVU rifle team member and 2016 Olympic gold medalist in air rifle
Mike Vanderjagt – former NFL placekicker for the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys
Jerry West – former NBA basketball player for the
Los Angeles Lakers and
Hall of Famer ; considered one of the greatest NBA and college basketball players of all time; is the image on the logo for the NBA
Pat White – former NFL quarterback for the Miami Dolphins
Andrew Wright – current defender/midfielder for
Morecambe F.C.
John Writer – Olympic gold and silver medal-winning sports shooter
[11]
[12]
Amos Zereoué – former NFL running back for the
Pittsburgh Steelers ,
Oakland Raiders , and New England Patriots
Authors
Business
Education
Journalists
Military
Bantz J. Craddock , former
US European Command (USEUCOM),
NATO 's
Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), and commanding officer of Allied Command Operations (ACO)
Music
Politics
Victor A. Arredondo – former Minister of Education at the State of Veracruz, Mexico, 2004–2010
Carl George Bachmann – United States Congressman, Republican
Minority Whip 1931–1933
Clark S. Barnes – West Virginia Senate, District 15, 2004–present
William Wallace Barron – 26th Governor of West Virginia
Irene Berger – United States District Judge for the
Southern District of West Virginia
Frank L. Bowman – politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives
Eric Brooks – West Virginia House of Delegates
Virginia Mae Brown – first woman to head the
Interstate Commerce Commission
Becky Cain – past president of the
League of Women Voters
William G. Conley – 18th Governor of West Virginia
William Harrison Courtney – special assistant to President Clinton
Joseph M. Devine –
Governor of
North Dakota from 1898 to 1899
[18]
David Ginsburg (1912–2010) – presidential adviser and executive director of the
Kerner Commission
[19]
William E. Glasscock – 13th Governor of West Virginia
Howard Mason Gore – 17th Governor of West Virginia
Kathleen M. Hawk – Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
Robert Lynn Hogg – represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives, 1930–1933
Brad Hoylman – sitting New York State Senator representing the 27th District which includes Midtown, Times Square, and Greenwich Village of lower Manhattan
Nancy Jacobs – Maryland State Senator (1973)
Sen.
Harley M. Kilgore – chairman of the US Senate Subcommittee on War Mobilization during World War II
Tim Mahoney – United States Congressman from Florida
Joe Manchin – 34th Governor of West Virginia;
United States Senator from West Virginia
William C. Marland – 24th Governor of West Virginia
Edward F. McClain – member of the
Wisconsin State Assembly
Darrell McGraw – former West Virginia Attorney General, former Chief Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court
Carlos Eduardo Mendoza – United States District Judge for the
Middle District of Florida
M. Blane Michael – Circuit Judge,
United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
Alan Mollohan – United States Congressman
Arch A. Moore, Jr. – 28th and 30th Governor of West Virginia
Ephraim F. Morgan – 16th Governor of West Virginia
Matthew M. Neely – 22nd Governor of West Virginia
Asra Nomani – former Wall Street Journal reporter, author and Islamic reform and feminism activist
Corey Lee Palumbo – West Virginia Senate, District 17, 2009 – present and West Virginia House of Representatives 2003–2009
Mike Pantelides – Mayor of
Annapolis, Maryland
Tom Pridemore – West Virginia House of Delegates and football player
Jeff Pyle – Pennsylvania State Representative
Stuart F. Reed – politician who represented West Virginia in the United States House of Representatives
Nelson Stamler – New Jersey State Senator, Assemblyman, Judge, and Prosecutor
Virginia Starcher – member of the
West Virginia House of Delegates, 1986–1990
Paul S. Stull – member of the
Maryland House of Delegates
John G. Trueschler – former member of the
Maryland House of Delegates (1979)
Cecil H. Underwood – youngest (25th) and oldest (32nd) Governor of West Virginia
Royalty
Science and technology
Katherine Johnson , a "human computer" whose calculations for
NASA were critical to the first successful U.S. crewed spaceflight
Other notable alumni
Cynthia Germanotta – philanthropist, co-founder of Born This Way; also, Lady Gaga's mother.
Patsy Ramsey – mother of JonBenet Ramsey; Miss West Virginia in 1977
References
^ Robb, David (2017-09-10).
"Mike Hodge Dies: President Of SAG-AFTRA's New York Local Was 70" .
Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 2017-10-07 .
^
"RAW DATA: Billy Mays Biography" . Fox News . 2009-06-28. Retrieved 2017-08-01 .
^ NBC Universal, Inc.
"NBC.com – Passions – About" . NBC Universal, Inc. Archived from
the original on June 11, 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-14 .
^ West Virginia University.
"John Russo | WVU Magazine" . West Virginia University. Retrieved 2015-11-13 .
^
"Michael Eugene Compton" . databaseBasketball.com. Archived from
the original on October 10, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012 .
^
"Brand New Brass" . Cleveland Cavaliers. July 26, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017 .
^
"Greg Jones Wrestling" . WVU Athletics. Retrieved 2014-01-01 .
^
"Greg Jones Blackzilian Bio" .
^
"Ellis Lankster" . NFL Enterprises LLC. Retrieved November 10, 2012 .
^ Newport, Kyle.
"XFL Names Andrew Luck's Father, Oliver, Commissioner and CEO" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved 2019-10-25 .
^
"WVU Sports Hall of Fame" . wvusports.com.
^
"Olympic Games Medals (Results)" . olympic.org.
^ Vijayan, Jaikumar (January 10, 2008).
"White House cuts paper out of federal budget" . Computerworld . IDG. Archived from
the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved 2008-06-29 .
^ Vijayan, Jaikumar (April 24, 1997).
"White House cuts paper out of federal budget" . Joe Hardy Passed Over Sons For Successor at 84 Lumber . wsj.com. Retrieved 2014-02-14 .
^ Mitchell, Hope (Feb 1, 2022).
"Grant County PUD leadership" . www.grantpud.org.
^
"DiSarro, Joseph" . Political Science Department,
Washington & Jefferson College . Archived from
the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2012-01-29 .
^
"Retired educator has spent 20 years battling abortion" . Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . Retrieved 2019-10-18 .
^
"Joseph M. Devine" . National Governors Association. Retrieved 13 September 2012 .
^ Grimes, William.
"David Ginsburg, Longtime Washington Insider, Dies at 98" ,
The New York Times , May 25, 2010. Accessed June 1, 2010.
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