List of West Virginia University alumni
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
Robert Ellis Silberstein – manager of Diana Ross, Billy Preston, Meat Loaf
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
Jevon Carter – current NBA player for the Chicago Bulls
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 – former 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
Chris Henry – former NFL wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals
Johannes "Joe" Herber – former professional and German international basketball player
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
Lee Patton – legendary basketball coach, WVU Sports Hall of Fame
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
Geno Smith – current NFL quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks
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
Yutaro Tsukada – professional soccer player
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
Geno Chiarelli – West Virginia state delegate
William G. Conley – 18th governor of West Virginia
William Harrison Courtney – special assistant to President Clinton
Joseph M. Devine – governor of North Dakota 1898–1899[ 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
Clay Riley – West Virginia state delegate
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
William S. Thompson – United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia
John G. Trueschler – former member of the Maryland House of Delegates (1979)
Cecil H. Underwood – youngest (25th) and oldest (32nd) governor of West Virginia
Christopher C. Wilkes – Judge, West Virginia Circuit Court
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; Lady Gaga's mother
Patsy Ramsey – mother of JonBenet Ramsey; Miss West Virginia 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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