WikiMili
List of Western Kentucky University people
Last updated
June 02, 2025
This is a list of notable alumni and faculty of
Western Kentucky University
.
Contents
Alumni
Academia
Business
Film and television
History
Music
Politics
Science
Sports
Military
Others
Faculty
References
This is a
dynamic list
and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by
adding missing items
with
reliable sources
.
This section
needs additional citations for
verification
.
Please help
improve this article
by
adding citations to reliable sources
in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
(
October 2012
)
(
Learn how and when to remove this message
)
Alumni
Academia
Herman Lee Donovan
, former president of Eastern Kentucky University and the University of Kentucky
James R. Ramsey
, former president of the University of Louisville
Michael G. Scales
, president of Nyack College and Alliance Theological Seminary
Billy Wilson
, president of Oral Roberts University
Business
Julian Goodman
, former president of
NBC
Brad Kelley
, businessman and (as of 2012) fourth-largest private landowner in the U.S. (attended; never graduated)
[
1
]
Larry C. Renfro, CEO of Optum and executive vice president at UnitedHealth Group
[
2
]
Film and television
Matthew Alan
, actor and producer
K.C. Armstrong
, former assistant producer of
The Howard Stern Show
John Carpenter
, film director
Clint Ford
, voice actor
[
3
]
Charmaine Hunt
, one of 18 contestants on the
fifth season
of
NBC
's
The Apprentice
[
4
]
Matt Long
, actor (
Jack McCallister
on WB's
Jack & Bobby
)
[
5
]
Charles Napier
, actor
[
6
]
[
7
]
Michael Rosenbaum
, actor (Lex Luthor on WB's
Smallville
)
David Schramm
, actor (Roy Biggins on
NBC
's
Wings
)
[
8
]
Jonah Scott
, actor
History
Lowell H. Harrison
, author, WKU university historian
Music
Michael Card
, contemporary Christian music artist
Chris Carmichael
, arranger, studio multi-instrumentalist
Tyler Childers
, 2019 Grammy nominee, folk country singer
Stephen Cochran
, country music singer/songwriter
[
9
]
United States Marine and Former face of the US Veterans Affairs (VA) R&D Department (2009–14)
Steve Gorman
, rock drummer,
The Black Crowes
Larnelle Harris
, gospel singer
The Hilltoppers
, 1950s popular singing group composed of WKU students including
Billy Vaughn
Chris Knight
, country music singer/songwriter
Bill Lloyd
, country/pop/rock musician and composer, half of
Foster & Lloyd
with
Radney Foster
Mark Melloan
, singer-songwriter, "High on a Hilltop" writer, and co-writer with
Stephen Cochran
Nappy Roots
, rap group best known for "Good Day"
Matthew Shultz
, lead singer, guitarist for
Cage the Elephant
Tony Smith, singer, guitarist for
Sleeper Agent
Politics
Chad Aull
, politician
Dwight D. Butler
, member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
Beverly Chester-Burton
(born 1963), politician
Mark Cole
, member of
Virginia House of Delegates
James Comer
, U.S. Representative from Kentucky's
1st
District
Cordell Hull
,
[
10
]
[
11
]
Secretary of State under
FDR
,
Nobel Peace Prize
winner
Derek Lewis
, member of Kentucky House of Representatives
[
12
]
Brad Montell
, member of Kentucky House of Representatives
William Natcher
,
[
13
]
U.S. Representative
Amy Neighbors
, member of Kentucky House of Representatives
Edwin L. Norris
,
fifth governor of Montana
[
14
]
Rebecca Raymer
, politician
Hal Rogers
, U.S. Representative from Kentucky
Science
Harry Barkus Gray
, chemist
Farley Norman
, psychological scientist
Terrence W. Wilcutt
, astronaut
[
15
]
Sports
Darel Carrier
, three-time ABA All-Star with the
Kentucky Colonels
Romeo Crennel
,
Houston Texans
Assistant head coach & defense
Steve Crocker, former SCM 50 freestyle world record holder, 1996 WKU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee
[
16
]
Claire Donahue
, swimmer, gold medalist,
2012 Summer Olympics
Brandon Doughty
, former NFL player
Don Durham
, former MLB player
Ken Edenfield
, former MLB player
Jeremy Evans
, NBA player with the
Utah Jazz
and 2012 slam dunk champion
Tellis Frank
, former NBA player with the
Miami Heat
Dee Gibson
, former BAA and NPBL player
Clem Haskins
, former NBA player with
Phoenix Suns
, former NCAA basketball coach at WKU and the
University of Minnesota
Heath Haynes
, former MLB player
Tyler Higbee
, current NFL player with the
Los Angeles Rams
Yolanda Hughes-Heying
, IFBB professional bodybuilder
Jeremi Johnson
, former NFL Player,
Cincinnati Bengals
Crystal Kelly
, former WNBA player, now women's basketball assistant coach at
Bellarmine University
Duane Kuiper
, MLB player, now
San Francisco Giants
broadcaster
Forrest Lamp
, NFL player,
Los Angeles Chargers
Courtney Lee
, NBA player,
New York Knicks
guard
Virgil Livers
, former NFL player,
Chicago Bears
Jim McDaniels
, former ABA and NBA player
Kenny Perry
, professional golfer,
PGA Tour
and
Champions Tour
Jeff Peterek
, former MLB player
Doug Piatt
, former MLB player
Hugh Poland
, former MLB player
Bobby Rascoe
, former ABA and NBA player
Don Ray
, former NBA player
Rod Smart
, XFL player known as "He Hate Me"
[
17
]
Greg Smith
, former NBA player
Art Spoelstra
, former NBA player
Steve Stemle
, former MLB player
Libby Stout
, former
NWSL
and professional soccer player, now women's soccer assistant coach at
Southern Illinois University
Taywan Taylor
, NFL player,
Cleveland Browns
Chris Turner
, former MLB player/catcher for the
New York Yankees
Ken Waller
, bodybuilder
Jim Weaver
, former MLB pitcher
Mike White
, NFL player,
New York Jets
Bailey Zappe
,
American football
quarterback
in the
NFL
Military
Damon W. Cooper
,
U.S. Navy
Vice Admiral
and the first Chief of
U.S. Naval Reserve
[
18
]
Jack Keane
, General, United States Army
Larry G. Smith
, retired
U.S. Army
Major General
, former
Commanding General
of the
United States Army Security Assistance Command
Others
Larry Elmore
, fantasy artist
Duncan Hines
, journalist, namesake of the bakery products company
[
19
]
Saeed Jones
, poet, editor at
BuzzFeed
Mitch McDeere
, fictional protagonist in
The Firm
by
John Grisham
Barry A. Vann
, author, lecturer
Faculty
David Bell
, writer
Robert Duvall
, politician
Sylvia Kersenbaum
, classical pianist
William L. Lane
, New Testament theologian and professor of biblical studies
Garnie W. McGinty
, Louisiana historian
Thomas Nicholson
, drug policy expert
References
↑
Keates, Nancy (October 25, 2012).
"The Man With a Million Acres"
.
The Wall Street Journal
. Retrieved
October 27,
2012
.
↑
"Stocks"
. Archived from
the original
on July 31, 2013.
↑
Clint Ford
at
IMDb
↑
"bio Charmaine Hunt"
. Archived from
the original
on September 3, 2013
. Retrieved
September 13,
2013
.
↑
"Matt Long at Starpulse.com (May 18, 1980)"
.
↑
Charles Napier at TVSA
. Tvsa.co.za.
↑
The Official Charles Napier Website
Archived
2013-05-11 at the
Wayback Machine
. Charlesnapier.com.
↑
David Schramm at filmsglobe
[
usurped
]
. Filmsglobe.com.
↑
"Stephen Cochran
: Artist Main"
. CMT.com. Archived from
the original
on August 27, 2007
. Retrieved
March 8,
2012
.
↑
WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni
Archived
December 11, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
↑
The Legacy Of Cordell Hull
Archived
2008-09-17 at the
Wayback Machine
. Cordellhullmuseum.com.
↑
"ABOUT ME – Lewis for Kentucky"
.
www.lewisforkentucky.com
. Retrieved
November 17,
2023
.
↑
United States Congress.
"William Natcher (id: N000009)"
.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
.
↑
"Montana Governor Edwin Lee Norris"
. National Governors Association
. Retrieved
October 10,
2012
.
↑
Terrence W. Wilcutt, Biographical Data
. Jsc.nasa.gov.
↑
"Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers Official Athletic Site - Athletics"
. Archived from
the original
on January 2, 2014
. Retrieved
December 6,
2013
.
↑
"Rod Smart"
. databaseFootball.com. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016
. Retrieved
November 26,
2012
.
↑
VADM Damon W. Cooper, Chief of Naval Reserve
. (PDF).
↑
Duncan Hines
. Nndb.com (September 27, 1905).
v
t
e
Western Kentucky University
Located in
:
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Academics
Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky
Athletics
Teams
Baseball
Men's basketball
Women's basketball
Football
Venues
Houchens
E. A. Diddle Arena
Related
Marching band
Sports Network
Sports Satellite Network
Swim team hazing scandal
Campus
College Heights Herald
Henry Hardin Cherry Hall
Kentucky Museum
Van Meter Hall
Western Kentucky University Heating Plant
Life
Big Red
VAMPY
WKU Public Radio
WKYU-TV
WWHR
WKUE
People
List of Western Kentucky University people
Founded
: 1906
Students
: 21,048
Endowment
: 109.9 million
Category
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article
Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0
license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.