List of Belmont University alumni

Belmont University is a Christian university in Nashville, Tennessee. The university was called Belmont College for Young Women from 1890 to 1913; Ward-Belmont College from 1913 to 1951, and Belmont College from 1951 to 1991. Following are some of its notable alumni.

Business

• Damon T. Hininger, MBA, chief executive officer of the Corrections Corporation of America ^[1]
• R. Milton Johnson, chairman and CEO of Hospital Corporation of America ^[2]

Entertainment

• McKinley Belcher III, actor ^[3]
• Blair Fowler, former YouTuber and now interior designer
• Sean Hetherington, reality television producer and pundit
• DJ Qualls, actor
• Rachel Smith, Miss Tennessee Teen USA 2002, Miss Tennessee USA 2007, and Miss USA 2007 ^[4]
• Tony Vincent, actor

Literature and journalism

• Elizabeth P. Farrington, publisher of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Congressional Delegate ^[5]
• H. L. Hix, poet and academic
• Michael Jackman, columnist, poet, essayist, fiction writer, and college professor
• Clare Boothe Luce, editor and playwright
• Masood Ashraf Raja, writer and associate professor University of North Texas ^{[ citation needed ]}
• Lila Acheson Wallace, co-founder of Reader's Digest ^[6]
• Lisa Williams, poet ^[7]

Music

• Greg Bates, country music singer-songwriter
• Didi Benami, American Idol finalist
• Denver Bierman, bandleader and trumpet player with Denver and the Mile High Orchestra ^{[8] [9]}
• Jimmy Bowen, record producer and former pop music performer ^[10]
• Becca Bradley, CCM musician and cellist
• Logan Brill, singer/songwriter
• Celeste Buckingham, Slovak singer-songwriter and pop musician
• Sarah Buxton, country music artist ^[11]
• Chuck Cannon, songwriter ^[12]
• Steven Curtis Chapman, Grammy Award-winning Christian artist ^[13]
• Brandy Clark, country music artist
• Travis Cottrell, Christian artist ^[14]
• Cowboy Crush, country music band; all five members are alumnae
• Devin Dawson, country music artist
• Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, "big band" composed entirely of Belmont University alumni, was a finalist on The Next Great American Band ^{[8] [9]}
• Russell Dickerson, country music artist
• Melinda Doolittle, American Idol finalist
• Jace Everett, recording artist ^[15]
• Sharon Gilchrist, bluegrass musician and singer ^[16]
• Andrew Greer, singer-songwriter ^[17]
• Ashley Gorley, songwriter and producer ^[18]
• Ben Johnson, songwriter and producer ^[19]
• Jake Goss, member of the three-piece alternative band LANY ^[20]
• Mike Grayson, member of the Christian band Mikeschair ^[21]
• Helen Hemphill, author ^[22]
• Tyler Hubbard, half of country music group Florida Georgia Line
• Ashlyne Huff, singer-songwriter ^[23]
• Jeff Irwin, musician
• Julienne Irwin, America's Got Talent finalist ^[24]
• Tamara "Taj" Johnson-George, member of R&B group SWV, author, and Survivor: Tocantins contestant ^[25]
• Brian Kelley, half of the country music group Florida Georgia Line
• Gordon Kennedy, co-writer of Eric Clapton's song "Change the World" and Grammy Award winner for 1996 Song of the Year in 1996 and 2006 Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2006
• Hannah Kerr, CCM Singer
• Katy Kirby, musician
• Paul Jason Klein, member of the three-piece alternative band LANY ^[20]
• Levi Kreis, Tony Award-winning music artist ^[26]
• Lara Landon, CCM recording artist
• Chase Lawrence, member of the alternative band Coin ^[27]
• Jesse Lee, country music singer ^[28]
• Jim Lill, country musician ^[29]
• Liza Anne, musician
• Kimberley Locke, American Idol finalist, music star, and plus-size model ^[30]
• Kelley Lovelace, songwriter
• Willie Mack, singer-songwriter ^[31]
• Mary Virginia Martin, actress, singer and Broadway star ^[32]
• Sandra McCracken, 1999, singer-songwriter. ^[33]
• Joe Memmel, member of the alternative band Coin ^[27]
• Moon Taxi, indie-alternative rock band; all five members are alumnae^{[ citation needed ]}
• Grace Moore, operatic soprano and actress in musical theatre and film
• Ginny Owens, Christian music artist ^[34]
• John Mark Painter, musician and songwriter, member of rock-and-roll duo Fleming and John ^[35]
• Brad Paisley, country music artist
• Minnie Pearl (real name Sarah Cannon) of Grand Ole Opry and Hee Haw fame; attended Belmont's predecessor, the Ward–Belmont School
• Jill Phillips, Christian music artist ^[36]
• Les Priest, member of the three-piece alternative band LANY ^[20]
• Julie Roberts, country music artist
• Frank Rogers, record producer ^[37]
• Jake Wesley Rogers, musician
• Mackenzie Scott, performs as TORRES
• Harold "FYÜTCH" Simmons, rapper, singer, songwriter, producer
• Canaan Smith, country music singer-songwriter
• Todd Smith, Christian artist, lead singer of Selah ^[38]
• Ric Steel, vocalist and instrumentalist
• Larry Stewart, country music artist, lead singer of Restless Heart ^[39]
• Pam Tillis, country music artist
• Josh Turner, country music artist
• Troy Verges, songwriter ^[40]
• Lee Ann Womack, country music artist
• Trisha Yearwood, country music artist
• Julianna Zobrist, Christian singer
• Ashley Cooke, country music artist

Politics

• Diane Black, U.S. Representative from Tennessee ^[41]
• Elizabeth P. Farrington, publisher of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Congressional Delegate ^[5]
• Samuel Atta Mills, Member of Parliament (Ghana)

Sports

• Ben Sheppard, American Basketball Player for the Indiana Pacers
• Jay Ayres, professional soccer player^{[ citation needed ]}
• Matt Beaty, Major League Baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers
• Brian Baker, professional tennis player ^[42]
• Kayla Braxton, WWE broadcaster
• Alysha Clark (born 1987), American-Israeli basketball player for the Israeli team Elitzur Ramla and the Las Vegas Aces of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)
• Ian Clark, NBA player ^[43]
• Stu Grimson, former NHL enforcer ^[44]
• J.J. Mann, professional basketball player
• Joshua McAdams, track and field athlete ^[45]
• Nico Olsak, Argentinian-born American-Israeli soccer player who plays in the Israeli Premier League
• Ricardo Patton, head basketball coach at Central High School ^[46]
• Alex Renfroe, professional basketball player
• J. P. Rodrigues, professional soccer player^{[ citation needed ]}
• Evan Bradds, assistant basketball coach
• Dylan Windler, professional basketball player

Other

• Jean MacArthur, supporter of the Metropolitan Opera and other charities, wife of U.S. Army General of the Army Douglas MacArthur

References

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4. Erwin, Lee (August 11, 2014). "Television personality is Clarksville's own Rachel Smith". WNZE. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
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6. "Lila Acheson Wallace". forum.belmont.edu/. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
7. "Lisa Williams". forum.belmont.edu/. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
8. "Denver and the Mile High Orchestra". Belmont University. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
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