University of Southern Mississippi - Alumni

Alumni

See all Notable Alumni of The University of Southern Mississippi.

Business

• Charles “Chuck” Scianna '75 - the president of Sim-Tex, L.P. in Waller, Texas, one of the leading suppliers of API-certified only country tubular goods.
• Mike Magusiak ’78 - the President and CEO of CEC Entertainment, Inc., which operates and franchises more than 500 Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurants in 48 states and five foreign countries
• Neil Williams ’75 - serves as chief financial officer and senior vice president of Intuit, Inc., which produces financial and tax preparation products like Quicken, Quickbooks and Turbo Tax.
• Gene Carlisle ’64 - the founder and sole shareholder of Carlisle Corporation, he owns and operates more than Wendy’s restaurants throughout Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and North Carolina employing more than 3,000 people and topping $140 million in sales.

Entertainment

• Whitney Miller '11 - winner of the first MasterChef title from season one of the Fox television show and author of her cookbook “Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes with Southern Charm”
• David Sheffield ’72 - Comedy writer and Hollywood screenwriter for “Saturday Night Live,” writing mostly for cast members Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo. Later, he wrote screenplays for Hollywood movies, including “Police Academy II,” and “Coming to America.”
• Jimmy Buffett ’69 - Singer, Songwriter, and author
• Tena Clark - songwriter/producer
• Cat Cora - Celebrity Chef, Iron Chef America on Food Network
• Lanny Flaherty - actor
• Gary Grubbs ’72 – actor, JFK, The Astronaut's Wife, the O. C., Will & Grace
• Cooper Huckabee - actor
• Clifton Hyde, musician, Blue Man Group, various others
• Nan Kelley - host of Grand Ole Opry Live, GAC Network, Miss Mississippi
• Tom Malone - Musician, CBS Orchestra - Late Show with David Letterman, Blues Brothers Band
• Steve Wiest-musician, multiple Grammy nominated jazz musician, composer, performer
• Nanette Workman - singer
• John Holman (writer) '83 - an American short story writer, novelist, and academic.

Government and education

• Clifford Ronald "Ronnie" Shows - former Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi.
• Steven McCarty Palazzo - U.S. Representative for Mississippi's 4th congressional district
• Phil Bryant '77 - Governor, State of Mississippi
• Evelyn Gandy - Politician, First female to serve in several Mississippi state governmental positions
• Oseola McCarty '98 (honorary degree) - The university's most humble and famous benefactor
• Martha Dunagin Saunders '69 - President, The University of Southern Mississippi
• James W. Smith, Jr. '65 - Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Mississippi
• Gene Taylor '80 (Graduate Studies) - former U.S. Representative, Mississippi's 4th Congressional District
• Major General Walter H. Yates, Jr.
• William Chong Wong '72 - A Delta Sigma Pi fellow, former Secretary of Finance for the country of Honduras (October 2004-January 2006, January 2010-February 2012), current Economical Advisor of the President of Honduras. On August 15, 2012, he was awarded a recognition by Honduras National Congress.

Journalism

• Ralph Dunagin - creator of the editorial comic strip “Dunagin’s People,” a nationally syndicated commentary cartoon that was printed in more than 100 newspapers for 30 years.
• Sally-Ann Roberts - Anchorwoman for WWL-TV in New Orleans, Louisiana
• Natalie Allen '84 - anchor for CNN International.
• Ed Hinton '70 - Sportswriter for ESPN.com
• Scott Walker '97 - News anchor at WDSU-TV in New Orleans
• Kathleen Koch - Correspondent, CNN
• Chuck Scarborough - Emmy award-winning anchor at WNBC-TV in New York City and author
• Clymer Wright - Editor of Fort Bend Reporter in Fort Bend County, Texas; later conservative political activist in Houston
• David McRaney - Internationally bestselling author of "You Are Not So Smart."

Military

• Major General Jeff Hammond ’78, ’86 - led one of the initial battalions into Bosnia in enforcement of the Dayton Peace Accords, served as the commander of U.S. forces in Baghdad, where he proudly served 33,000 troops of the U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division and Multi-National Division Baghdad in their effort to protect the people of Iraq's capital city.
• Major General James H. Garner '54, '57 - appointed the Adjutant General of Mississippi in 1992 and 1996 and served as commander of the 114th Area Support Group, commander of the 31st Support Center (Rear Area Operations) and commander of the 2nd Battalion, 20th Special Forces for five years.
• Major General Fletcher C. Coker, Jr. '62 - assigned duties as Vice Commander, Joint Warfighting Center/Vice Director, Joint Training, U.S. Joint Forces Command, in May 1997 and oversight of all assigned reserve component personnel, and advises the CINC USACOM on matters affecting or pertaining to the National Guard. He also serves as senior National Guard representative of the Chief, National Guard Bureau to the U.S. Joint Forces Command.
• Major General Dewitt T. Irby, Jr. '62 - commanded Company A, 2d BA, 63rd Armor of the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas.
• Brigadier General Richard S. Poole
• Major General Walter H. Yates - military decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, numerous Air Medals, Army Commendation Medal, and the Purple Heart.
• Colonel Woodrow G. Lyon
• Brigadier General Robert L. Stewart '64 - NASA astronaut
• Colonel Rayford Vaughn - (Retired)spent 26 years in the US Army as a software engineer. Commander of the Army's Information Systems Software Center, headquartered at Fort Belvior, Virginia, and the first Director of the Pentagon Single Agency Manager for Information Technology Services.
• Brigadier General Stanislaus I. Hoey - served with the 3d Armored Field Artillery, 2d Armored Division, as a Reconnaissance and Survey Officer and Battery Executive Officer and went to Vietnam in mid-1963 as a Military Advisor with the 23d Infantry Division at Quang Duc.
• Major General Buford C. Blount III - has been serving as the Army’s Deputy G-3 since Oct 2003. Previously he was the Commanding General, 3d Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield. Major General Blount gave up command of the 3 ID after bringing them home from Iraq where they were the lead force in capturing Baghdad.
• Brigadier General James Parker Hills
• Lieutenant General Thomas Miller - served in a wide variety of command and staff assignments predominantly in Airborne and Light Infantry units to include overseas tours in Iraq, Haiti, Korea, Hawaii and Japan.
• Colonel Ronald J. Rabin - commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry from the ROTC program at Mississippi Southern College (now the University of Southern Mississippi) and entered active duty in August of that year. In 1960, following various assignments in CONUS and Korea, Colonel Rabin volunteered for duty with the Army’s Special Forces at Fort Bragg, NC. After completing the course, he assumed command of an A Detachment and deployed to engage in Counterinsurgency operations in the Kingdom of Laos. Upon his return he was assigned to the G-3 Section, Headquarters, Special Warfare Center and in 1964 attended the Burmese language course at the Defense Language Institute. During 1964 Colonel Rabin accepted his Regular Army commission.
• Lieutenant Colonel Edward Kauchick
• Colonel Kenneth Rigby
• Brigadier General Larry Harrington - Assistant Adjutant General of Mississippi.
• Brigadier General Robert F. Thomas '81 - Assistant Adjutant General-Army.

Science and technology

• Robert Hyatt '83 - Author of Cray Blitz a World Chess Champion Computer Program
• Robert L. Stewart '64 - Former NASA Astronaut and retired Army brigadier general

Sports

• Matt Carpenter (runner) '87 - a trail runner who has won the Pikes Peak Marathon twelve times, the Vail Hill Climb eight times, the Imogene Pass Run six times, the Barr Trail Mountain Race, Everest SkyMarathon Tibet, and Aspen SkyMarathon five times each, and holds the course record for all of these events. Carpenter’s success in the sport has been so extensive and dominant that he has been compared to Lance Armstrong, and described as “one of the greatest mountain runners of all time."
• James Ray Carpenter '50, '51 - the former president of the Professional Golfers’ Association of America.
• Tom Johnson - NFL Defensive Tackle, New Orleans Saints
• Major General Jeff Hammond ’78, ’86 - Athletics Director at the University of Southern Mississippi
• John Bale - MLB pitcher, Kansas City Royals
• Michael Boley - NFL Linebacker, New York Giants
• Jeff Bower - Former head football coach, The University of Southern Mississippi
• Chad Bradford -Former MLB pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays
• Jeremy Bridges - NFL Lineman, Arizona Cardinals
• Steve Broussard - Former NFL Punter, Green Bay Packers
• Mack Brown - (Grad Degree '76) Head Football Coach - University of Texas Longhorns
• Kyle Burkhart - NFL Offensive Lineman - Seattle Seahawks
• Reggie Collier - First NCAA quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards, and pass for 1,000 yards in the same season
• Rod Davis - Former NFL Linebacker, Minnesota Vikings
• Jim Davenport - Former MLB infielder and manager
• Demar Dotson - NFL Offensive Lineman - Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• Brett Favre - Pro-Bowl and three-time Most Valuable Player NFL quarterback, (Retired) Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets, Minnesota Vikings
• Ray Guy (1973) - NFL punter and college football hall of famer
• Bobby Hamilton - Former NFL defensive end, Cleveland Browns
• Don Hultz (1962) - NFL defensive player, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears
• Maxie Lambright - Former head football coach, Louisiana Tech
• Mike Landrum - Former NFL Tight End, Atlanta Falcons
• Cliff Lewis - Former NFL Linebacker, Green Bay Packers
• Louis Lipps - Former NFL Pro-Bowl Wide Receiver and 1984 AFC Rookie of the Year, Pittsburgh Steelers
• Chris Long - Former women's basketball coach, Louisiana Tech
• Don Maestri - Head Basketball Coach, Troy University
• Larry Mason - Former NFL Running Back, Cleveland Browns and Green Bay Packers
• Kelly McCarty - American professional basketball player in Europe, former NBA player for the Denver Nuggets
• Ryan McKee - NFL Offensive Lineman - St. Louis Rams
• Gerald McRath - NFL Linebacker - Tennessee Titans
• Shawn Nelson - NFL tight end - New York Jets
• Tyrone Nix - Assistant Head Coach, University of Mississippi
• Doyle Orange - CFL All-Star Running Back, Toronto Argonauts
• Todd Pinkston - Former NFL Wide Receiver, Philadelphia Eagles
• Jeff Posey - Former NFL Linebacker, Washington Redskins
• Pat Rapp- Former MLB Pitcher, Florida Marlins
• Patrick Surtain '98 - Former Pro-Bowl NFL Defensive Back, Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs
• Adalius Thomas - Former NFL Pro-Bowl Linebacker, New England Patriots
• Clarence Weatherspoon '93 - Former NBA Basketball player (Retired)
• Terry Wells - Former NFL Running Back, Houston Oilers and Green Bay Packers
• Chad Williams - Former NFL Defensive Back, Kansas City Chiefs
• Sammy Winder - Former NFL Pro-Bowl Running Back, Denver Broncos