Central Washington University - Notable Alumni

Notable Alumni

The following are some notable former Wildcats:

  • NFL quarterback Jon Kitna — Seattle Seahawks, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys. Led the team to an NAIA Div. II championship in 1995.
  • CFL quarterback Mike Reilly — BC Lions, Formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, St. Louis Rams, Seattle Seahawks.
  • CFL linebacker Adam Bighill — BC Lions.
  • NFL tight end Jared Bronson — Miami Dolphins.
  • MLB pitcher Dave Heaverlo — San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners.
  • MLB outfielder Billy North — Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants
  • Basketball coach Dean Nicholson who combined with his father, Leo, to win 1,114 games at CWU, which is the most ever by a father-son duo in college basketball history.
  • NCAA football coach Keith Gilbertson — University of Idaho, University of California, Berkeley, University of Washington. Played football for the Wildcats for one season in 1967, later graduating in 1971
  • W. Hudson Kensel, historian of the American West.
  • USMC General James N. Mattis — United States Marine Corps. Commander of the United States Central Command 2010–Present. Class of 1972.
  • Douglas B. Wood President of Tommy Bahama Group Inc.
  • Christine M. Day named "CEO of the Year" by Forbes Magazine. CEO of Lululemon Athletica an athletic sportswear company.
  • Author Stephen L. Nelson — Author "Quicken for Dummies" and 150 other books in the series, over 5 million copies sold worldwide. Named “most prolific computer book writer” by Wall Street Journal.
  • Inventor, CPA Roland "Sandy" Wheeler— Inventor of “Bowflex“(NYSE:NLS) in the 1980s he later went on to acquire Nautilus, Stairmaster and Schwinn Fitness.
  • Actor Craig T. Nelson — star of sitcom Coach
  • Actor Brian Thompson – known for his work in action films and television series
  • Ron Sims — Current Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and former King County Executive.
  • Astronaut Dorothy M. Metcalf-Lindenburger Currently, she is assigned to the crew of STS-131, her first expedition.
  • United States Coast Guard Douglas Albert Munro (October 11, 1919 – September 27, 1942) is the only member of the United States Coast Guard to have received the Medal of Honor, the U.S. military's highest decoration.
  • U.S. Air National Guard Brigadier General John R. Croft — Chief of Staff of the Wisconsin Air National Guard
  • Lieutenant Commander Craig Olson, Navy Blue Angels Demonstration #5 Lead Solo Pilot. A Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet instructor pilot at Naval Air Station Lemoore,. Decorations include: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, and various personal and unit awards.
  • U.S. Air National Guard Brigadier General Myron N. Dobashi — Commander of the Hawaii Air National Guard
  • David L Boushey American Stuntman and the founder of the United Stuntmen's Association, the International Stunt School, the Society of American Fight Directors, and is a member of The Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall Of Fame.
  • Daniel D. McCracken a prominent computer scientist. He was a Professor of Computer Sciences at the City College of New York, and the author of over two dozen textbooks on computer programming
  • Allan Byron Swift an Emmy award–winning broadcaster, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1995. He represented the Second Congressional District of Washington as a Democrat.

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