List of University of North Texas alumni

The following is a list of notable people who have attended or taught at the University of North Texas.

Athletics

• Steve Austin (known as Steve Williams while at UNT), wrestler
• Bill Bishop, NFL defensive tackle
• Bruce Chambers, former Texas Longhorns football assistant coach (1998–2014)
• Patrick Cobbs, NFL running back
• Jaelon Darden, NFL wide receiver
• Lance Dunbar, NFL running back
• Tony Elliott, NFL nose tackle
• Toby Gowin, NFL punter
• "Mean" Joe Greene, NFL Hall of Famer, NFL defensive tackle and head coach
• Cedric Hardman, NFL football defensive end; 1970 first round draft pick, San Francisco 49ers
• Abner Haynes, AFL and NFL running back
• Jim Hess, former college coach and NFL scout
• Don January, PGA Senior Tour golfer
• Chris Jones (born 1993), basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Brad Kassell, NFL Defensive Player
• Carl "Spider" Lockhart, NFL defensive back
• Billy Maxwell, PGA Senior Tour golfer
• Tony Mitchell, NBA forward
• Umar Muhammad, football player
• Jamize Olawale, NFL fullback
• Zach Orr, NFL linebacker
• Carlos Ortiz, PGA Tour golfer
• Willie Parker, NFL offensive lineman
• Johnny Quinn, USA Olympic Bobsled
• Ray Renfro, NFL wide receiver
• Hurles Scales, NFL defensive back
• Kal Segrist, MLB second baseman and Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball head coach (1968–83) ^[1]
• Ron Shanklin, NFL receiver and All-Pro player
• Charlie Shepard, all-star CFL running back
• J.T. Smith, NFL wide receiver
• Dennis Swilley, NFL offensive lineman
• Tra Telligman, UFC fighter
• Harry Vines, wheelchair basketball pioneer
• David Von Erich (real name David Adkisson), deceased professional wrestler dubbed the "Yellow Rose of Texas," brother of Kevin Von Erich
• Kevin Von Erich (real name Kevin Adkisson), professional wrestler dubbed "the Golden Warrior", brother of David Von Erich
• Brian Waters, NFL offensive lineman
• Jeff Wilson, NFL running back

Arts and media

• Lawrence B. Jones, journalist, news anchor, news reporter, investigative reporter, and Fox News media personality
• Theodore Albrecht, musicologist
• Larry Austin, composer
• Joe Don Baker, film actor, Charley Varrick , Walking Tall , Cape Fear , three James Bond films
• Dave Barnett, sports announcer
• William Basinski, musician
• Bob Belden, jazz musician, Grammy Award-winning composer
• Brian Biggs, children's book illustrator
• Gregg Bissonette, jazz and rock drummer
• Sally Blakemore, paper engineer and pop-up book creator
• Joan Blondell, Oscar-nominated film and television actress, Desk Set , Nightmare Alley , The Cincinnati Kid , Grease
• Craig Bohmler, composer
• Zach Bolton, voice actor
• Pat Boone, pop and gospel singer, actor and television personality
• Billy Lee Brammer, novelist and journalist
• Justin Briner, voice actor
• Brave Combo, Grammy-winning polka rock band
• Karen Mixon Cook, disc jockey
• Eden Brent, blues pianist and vocalist
• Rogers Cadenhead, author of computer books; Web publisher; member of RSS Advisory Board
• Matt Chamberlain, session drummer
• Thomas Haden Church, Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning film and television actor, Sideways , Spider-Man 3 , Broken Trail
• Jeff Coffin, jazz saxophonist of Dave Matthews band and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones
• Joseph Patrick Cranshaw, film actor, best known as "Blue" from movie Old School
• Ivan Davis, classical concert pianist
• Aaron Dismuke, voice actor
• Miranda Dodson, Christian folk musician
• Bob Dorough, bebop and jazz pianist/vocalist of Schoolhouse Rock songs
• George Dunham, radio talk-show host and former "voice of the Mean Green Radio Network"
• Matthew Earnest, theatre director
• Greg Edmonson, musician
• Alyssa Edwards, drag performer, choreographer, and businessperson
• Todd and Toby Pipes, one hit wonders from the 1990s (Deep Blue Something)
• Rob Erdle, watercolorist, regents' professor
• Charlie Fern, White House speechwriter, journalist
• Kelli Finglass Director of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, television personality, television producer
• Steve Flanigan Film Producer, Director and DP.
• Mark Followill, sports announcer
• O'Neil Ford, architect whose works include San Antonio's Tower of the Americas
• Steven Fromholz, singer-songwriter, 2007 Poet Laureate of Texas
• Bobby Fuller, rock singer/guitarist best known for his band's cover of "I Fought the Law"
• Phyllis George, Miss America 1971; First Lady of Kentucky, 1979–83; TV personality; broadcaster for The NFL Today
• Jimmy Giuffre, jazz musician
• James Hampton, actor and director
• Gerald Harvey Jones, a.k.a. G. Harvey, (1933–2017), painter. ^[2]
• Kyle Hebert, voice actor
• Don Henley, Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and drummer, solo and with The Eagles
• Sara Hickman, folk singer/songwriter
• Ray Wylie Hubbard, country music singer
• Kyle Irion, blogger and fiction author
• Elliott Johnson, artist and designer
• Norah Jones, Grammy-winning pianist and singer-songwriter
• Jeffrey L. Kimball, cinematographer of Top Gun
• Scott Kurtz, creator of the webcomic PvP
• Sue Ane Langdon, actress
• Michael Lark, comic book artist
• Lecrae, Christian hip-hop artist, actor, co-founder of Reach Records
• T. Lewis, illustrator of the comic strip Over the Hedge
• Tom "Bones" Malone, trombonist; played with Saturday Night Live and Late Show with David Letterman house bands, and The Blues Brothers
• "Blue Lou" Marini, saxophonist; played with Saturday Night Live house band and The Blues Brothers
• Jim Marrs, conspiracy theorist and author of Crossfire: the Plot that Killed Kennedy (the basis for the Oliver Stone film JFK)
• Lyle Mays, composer and keyboardist with Pat Metheny Group
• Dr. Phil McGraw, television personality and psychologist
• Eli McDonald, artist
• Larry McMurtry, novelist, essayist and screenwriter; won Pulitzer Prize for novel Lonesome Dove and Academy Award for screenplay of Brokeback Mountain
• Melissa McMillan, vocalist & multi-instrumentalist (Hozier, The Killers)
• Meat Loaf, rock singer and film actor
• Bill Mercer, sports and professional wrestling announcer
• Takesha Meshé Kizart, operatic soprano
• Jim Metcalf, news reporter and Peabody Award recipient
• R. K. Milholland, creator of webcomics Something Positive , New Gold Dreams and Midnight Macabre
• Lawrence Montaigne, actor, writer, dancer, and stuntman
• Latonia Moore, operatic soprano
• Maren Morris, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter ^[3]
• Bill Moyers, journalist and commentator
• Jack Nance, stage, TV and film actor, notable for his works with director David Lynch including Eraserhead , Twin Peaks
• Trina Nishimura, voice actor
• Warren Carl Norwood, author of science-fiction novels
• Roy Orbison, rock singer-songwriter in Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
• Brina Palencia, voice actor
• Alan Palomo, frontman for Neon Indian
• Jessie Pavelka, television star and model
• Mark Phillips, founding member and face of YouTube group RDCWorld
• Craig Pilo (born 1972), drummer
• David Portillo, operatic tenor
• Emily Pulley, operatic soprano who has performed in more than 150 operas
• Patricia Racette, operatic soprano
• Leila Rahimi, sports reporter and anchor
• Anne Rice, author, Interview with the Vampire
• Michelle Rojas, voice actor
• Jim Rotondi, jazz trumpeter, educator and conductor
• Melissa Rycroft, dancer and television personality
• Philece Sampler, film, television, and voice actor
• Christopher Sabat, voice actor
• Sonny Strait, voice actor and comic book artist
• Andrew Savage, musician and artist
• Emilia Schatz, video game designer at Naughty Dog
• Ann Sheridan, film actress, star of Dodge City , The Man Who Came to Dinner , Nora Prentiss
• Damin Spritzer, organist and academic
• Clinton Howard Swindle, journalist and author
• Alexis Tipton, voice actor
• Darren Trumeter, member of The Whitest Kids U' Know comedy troupe
• Paul Varghese, stand-up comedian, appeared on NBC's Last Comic Standing
• Jennifer Vasquez, Big Brother season 6 contestant; actor
• Craig Way, sports announcer
• Peter Weller, film actor and star of RoboCop
• Noble Willingham, television and film actor, Walker, Texas Ranger , Good Morning, Vietnam , City Slickers
• Kaela Sinclair, musician, keyboardist and vocalist for M83 ^[4]
• Shara Worden, musician, performs under the name My Brightest Diamond
• Xiaoze Xie, artist
• Denny Thomas, Emmy-winning editor

Science and education

• W. J. Adkins, B.A. 1930 (1907–1965), founding president of Laredo Community College
• Jeff M. Allen, information scientist
• Dee Brock (B.A., M.A., Ph.D.), senior vice president of educational programming at PBS
• Elise F. Harmon, B.S. (1909–1985), ^[5] physicist, chemist, and major contributor to the miniaturization of computers ^[6]
• Anita Jose, Ph.D, business strategist, essayist, and professor at Hood College
• John E. King, PhD, president of the Kansas State Teachers College (now Emporia State University); president of the University of Wyoming, 1966-1967
• Juan L. Maldonado (B.A. 1972, Master of Education 1975) has been the president of Laredo Community College since 2007. ^[7]
• Gary S. Metcalf (1957), organizational theorist and management consultant
• Charles Mullins, cardiologist and former CEO, Parkland Hospital; administrator, University of Texas System
• Lorene Lane Rogers, Ph.D. (1914–2009), president of The University of Texas, first woman president of a major public university
• Nicola Scafetta, Ph.D, physicist

Government and public service

• Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs since 29 April 2015. He was the former ambassador to Washington, former adviser to the Royal Court of Saudi Arabia.
• Dick Armey, former Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, Texas District 26, which includes UNT, former economics professor and department chair at UNT
• Robert Lee Bobbitt, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives (1927–1929); Attorney General of Texas (1929–1930); state court judge (1935–1937); chairman of the Texas Highway Department (1937–1943)
• Michael C. Burgess, current U.S. representative for the 26th Texas district, which includes UNT
• Konni Burton, Texas State Senator as of 2015
• Jack Cox, Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1962; Houston oilfield equipment industrialist
• Tony Goolsby (Class of 1961), member of the Texas House of Representatives from Dallas County from 1989 to 2009 ^[8]
• Warren G. Harding, former Texas State Treasurer (1977–1983) and Dallas County Treasurer (1950–1977); former President of North Texas State University.
• Jim Hightower, populist activist and former Texas Commissioner of Agriculture
• Opal Lee, activist who championed Juneteenth becoming a U.S. Federal holiday ^[9]
• Joseph L. Lengyel, General, U.S. Air Force; Chief, National Guard Bureau
• Clint Lorance (born 1984), Army officer convicted of second-degree murder for battlefield deaths; pardoned
• Diane Patrick (Class of 1969 and 1999, M.A. and Ph.D.), member of the Texas House of Representatives from Arlington; former faculty member in education ^[10]
• Ray Roberts, former Congressman from Denton; namesake of nearby Lake Ray Roberts
• Corry Schiermeyer, former United States Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications (acting) (2006–2007), Associate EPA Administrator for Public Affairs (2019-2020)
• Gwyn Shea, former Texas secretary of state (2002–2003) and a member of the Texas House of Representatives (1983–1993) from Irving; UNT regent since 2007
• Drew Springer, Jr., state representative from District 68 in North Texas and the eastern South Plains ^[11]
• Barbara Staff, co-chairman of the 1976 Texas Ronald Reagan presidential primary campaign ^[12]

Pageantry

• R'Bonney Gabriel, first Asian-American Miss Texas USA, winner of Miss USA 2022 and Miss Universe 2022 ^[13]

References

1. "Texas Tech Baseball" (PDF). Grfx.cstv.com. p. 129. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
2. Barnes, Michael (December 4, 2017). "Texas artist Gerald Harvey Jones painted Americana". Austin American-Statesman . Retrieved November 11, 2018.
3. "Hero of Her Own Story". University of North Texas . December 8, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2023.
4. "Crazy Good Year | North Texan".
5. "California Death Index, 1940–1997". FamilySearch. Retrieved 16 August 2015.
6. Stanley, Autumn (1995). Mothers and Daughters of Invention: Notes for a Revised History of Technology. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. p. 387. ISBN   978-0813521978 . Retrieved 16 August 2015.
7. "Curriculum Vitae: Juan L. Maldonado" (PDF). senate.state.tx.us. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 22, 2012. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
8. "State Representative Tony Goolsby" (PDF). lrl.state.tx.us. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
9. "Activist, Leader Opal Lee Dedicates Her Life to Fort Worth Community" . Retrieved October 16, 2022.
10. "Diane Patrick's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved March 9, 2014.
11. "Weatherford grad takes his seat as state legislator, February 1, 2013". Weatherford Democrat. Retrieved July 18, 2013.
12. Julia Sweeney, "Barbara Staff picks GOP over Jamaica," the defunct Dallas Times Herald, August 20, 1976, p. E3
13. Quintana, Anna (3 October 2022). "Miss USA 2022 Is R'Bonney Gabriel – Here Is What You Need to Know About the Texas Beauty". Distractify . Retrieved 4 October 2022.