Notable Alumni of the University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, boasts a rich history and a long list of accomplished alumni who have made significant contributions in various fields. This article highlights some of the most notable graduates and former students who have left an indelible mark on the world.
Literary Giants
William Faulkner: One of the most celebrated writers in American literature, William Cuthbert Faulkner, attended the University of Mississippi from 1919 to 1921. Though he did not graduate, Faulkner's connection to Mississippi remained strong throughout his life, as he set many of his novels and short stories in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, a reflection of Lafayette County where he resided. A Nobel laureate, Faulkner is renowned for his exploration of Southern identity, history, and culture.
John Grisham: A successful author, lawyer, and former member of the Mississippi House of Representatives, John Ray Grisham Jr. is best known for his legal thrillers. Grisham has achieved remarkable success, with 37 consecutive number-one fiction bestsellers and over 300 million copies sold worldwide. He stands alongside Tom Clancy and J. K. Rowling as one of the few anglophone authors to have sold two million copies on the first printing.
Sporting Legends
Mahesh Bhupathi: Born in India, Mahesh Shrinivas Bhupathi is a former doubles world No. 1 tennis player. In 1997, he became the first Indian to win a major tournament (with Rika Hiraki). Bhupathi's win at the 2006 Australian Open mixed doubles solidified his place among the elite, making him one of eight tennis players to achieve a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles. He is also the founder of the International Premier Tennis League. In December 2016, Bhupathi was appointed as India's next non-playing Davis Cup captain and took over the reins from Anand Amritraj in February 2017.
Cooper Manning: Cooper Archibald Manning is an American entrepreneur and television personality. He studied at the University of Mississippi from 1992 to 1996. He is the host of "The Manning Hour" for Fox Sports and principal and senior managing director of investor relations for AJ Capital Partners. He is the eldest son of former professional football quarterback Archie Manning, and the older brother of former professional football quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Eli Manning.
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Greg Hardy: Gregory McKarl Hardy is an American mixed martial artist, boxer, and former football defensive end. He played football for six seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Carolina Panthers.
DK Metcalf: DeKaylin Zecharius "DK" Metcalf is an American professional football wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels and studied hospitality management.
A. J. Brown: Arthur Juan Brown is an American professional football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the second round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Patrick Willis: Patrick L. Willis is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for his entire eight-year career with the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels, earning consensus All-American honors in 2006. The 49ers selected Willis in the first round of the 2007 NFL draft.
Matt Corral: Matthew Anthony Corral is an American professional football quarterback for the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the third round of the 2022 NFL draft.
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Laquon Treadwell: Laquon Malik Treadwell is an American professional football wide receiver for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels from 2013 to 2015, earning second-team All-American honors in 2015. He left as the school's all-time leader in receptions with 202 during the course of three seasons. Treadwell was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 2016 NFL draft. He has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks.
Jordan Ta'amu: Jordan Taalolo Ta'amu-Perifanos is an American professional football quarterback for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Ole Miss Rebels. Ta'amu has been a member of several National Football League (NFL) teams and has started for the St. Louis BattleHawks and Defenders of the XFL and Tampa Bay Bandits of the United States Football League (USFL). With the Bandits, he led the 2022 USFL season in passing yardage and touchdowns. Ta'amu was named XFL Offensive Player of the Year following the 2023 XFL season with the Defenders.
Van Jefferson: Vanchi LaShawn Jefferson Jr. is an American professional football wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Ole Miss and Florida and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Sam Kendricks: Samuel Hathorn Kendricks is an American pole vaulter. He is a three-time indoor and six-time outdoor national champion (2014-2019), the 2016 Olympics bronze and 2024 Olympics silver medalist, and the 2017 and 2019 World Champion. In 2019, Kendricks set the American pole vault record at 6.06 m, tying him with Steve Hooker for fourth all time. He later won the gold medal at the World Championships in Doha.
Figures in Arts and Entertainment
Kate Jackson: Lucy Kate Jackson, known professionally as Kate Jackson, is an American actress and television producer. She is known for her television roles as Sabrina Duncan in the series Charlie's Angels (1976-1979) and Amanda King in the series Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983-1987). Her film roles include Making Love (1982) and Loverboy (1989). She is a three-time Emmy Award nominee and four-time Golden Globe Award nominee, and Photoplay (magazine) award winner for "Favorite TV Actress" 1978.
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Gerald McRaney: Gerald Lee McRaney is an American television and film actor. McRaney is best known as one of the stars of the television shows Simon & Simon, Major Dad, Promised Land and House of Cards. He most recently starred as Admiral Hollace Kilbride on NCIS: Los Angeles. He was a series regular in the first season of the CBS drama series Jericho and the final season of the HBO series Deadwood. He appeared in a recurring role as main antagonist Mason Wood in season eight of Castle. Recently, he played Barlow Connally in the A&E series Longmire and had a recurring role in the NBC series This Is Us as Dr. Nathan Katowski, a role which earned him the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Josh Kelley: Joshua Bishop Kelley is an American musician and singer-songwriter. Kelley has recorded for Hollywood Records, Threshold Records and DNK Records as a pop rock artist. His songs "Amazing" and "Only You" reached the top ten on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart.
Tate Taylor: Tate Taylor is an American filmmaker and actor. Taylor is best known for directing The Help (2011), Get On Up (2014), and The Girl on the Train (2016).
Cynthia Geary: Cynthia Geary is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Shelly Tambo on the television series Northern Exposure (1990-1995), which earned her two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.
Mary Ann Mobley: Mary Ann Mobley was an American actress, television personality, and Miss America 1959.
Political Leaders and Public Servants
Trent Lott: Chester Trent Lott Sr. is an American lobbyist, lawyer, author, and politician who represented Mississippi in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1989 and in the United States Senate from 1989 to 2007. Lott served in numerous leadership positions in both chambers of Congress as one of the first of a wave of Republicans winning seats in Southern states that had been solidly Democratic. Later in his career, he served twice as Senate Majority Leader, and also, alternately, Senate Minority Leader. In 2003, he stepped down from the position after controversy due to his praising of Senator Strom Thurmond's 1948 segregationist Dixiecrat presidential bid. Lott graduated with Bachelor in Business Administration in 1967.
Jeanne Shaheen: Cynthia Jeanne Shaheen is an American politician and former educator serving since 2009 as the senior United States senator from New Hampshire. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served from 1997 to 2003 as the 78th governor of New Hampshire. senator, and the first woman elected governor of New Hampshire. Shaheen graduated with Master of Social Science in 1973.
Thad Cochran: William Thad Cochran was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator for Mississippi from 1978 to 2018. House of Representatives from 1973 to 1978. Cochran studied at the University of Mississippi in 1959.
Roger Wicker: Roger Frederick Wicker is an American politician, attorney, and Air Force veteran serving as the senior United States senator from Mississippi, a seat he has held since 2007. representative from Mississippi's 1st congressional district from 1995 until 2007. Wicker graduated with Bachelor of Arts in journalism and political science in 1973.
Ray Mabus: Raymond Edwin Mabus Jr. is an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy from 2009 to 2017. Mabus previously served as the State auditor of Mississippi from 1984 to 1988, as the 60th governor of Mississippi from 1988 to 1992, and as the United States ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 1994 to 1996.
Dick Carlson: Richard Warner Carlson is an American journalist, diplomat and lobbyist who was the director of the Voice of America from 1986 to 1991. Carlson has also been a newspaper and wire service reporter, magazine writer, documentary filmmaker, and television/radio correspondent. He is the father of conservative political commentator Tucker Carlson.
Civil Rights Advocates
James Meredith: James Howard Meredith is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and United States Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Mississippi after the intervention of the federal government (an event that was a flashpoint in the civil rights movement). Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's inaugural address, Meredith decided to exercise his constitutional rights and apply to the University of Mississippi. His goal was to put pressure on the Kennedy administration to enforce civil rights for African Americans. The admission of Meredith ignited the Ole Miss riot of 1962 where Meredith's life was threatened and 31,000 American servicemen were required to quell the violence - the largest ever invocation of the Insurrection Act of 1807.
Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs
Dixie Carter: Dixie Carter-Salinas is an American businesswoman. She is best known for her time as president of the professional wrestling promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).
Hall of Fame Inductees of the School of Business Administration
The School of Business Administration at the University of Mississippi has honored several individuals for their achievements and contributions to society.
Jim Barksdale: Jim Barksdale served as president and CEO of Netscape Communications Corp. from January 1995 until the company merged with America Online in March 1999. Following the merger, Barksdale joined the Time Warner board of directors. He established the university's Barksdale Honors College in 1997 and the Barksdale Reading Institute in 2001.
Frank Rogers Day: After earning a business degree in 1953, Frank Rogers Day began a stellar 40-year career in banking. In 1978, Day established the Luckyday Foundation. Since 2001, the foundation has awarded more than 6,000 students with four-year Luckyday Scholarships and enrichment programming focused on student success, leadership development and career readiness. The Christine and Clarence Day Scholarship in the Ole Miss business school, honoring Day's parents, is the state's largest business scholarship. The Luckyday Foundation joined with the Mississippi Bankers Association in 2001 to endow the Frank R.
Lawrence Farrington: Lawrence Farrington graduated from Ole Miss in 1958 with a business degree. After working in the Petroleum Department of Deposit Guaranty National Bank, he left to start his own company, Atwood Alarm Co. He sold the company in 1986 and became a general partner in Vaughey & Vaughey Oil Co. Farrington is a past chair of the Business Advisory Council. In 1988, he became president of The Hundred Club of Jackson, which assists families of police and firemen killed in the line of duty, and held that position for 15 years. In 2006, he was appointed a commissioner on the Mississippi Arts Commission and remained in that position until 2016. Farrington serves on Now & Ever: The Campaign for Ole Miss steering committee and previously served on the UM Foundation board.
Michael Glenn: Glenn retired from the FedEx Corp. in 2016 after a 35-year career there. Glenn also served as president and CEO of FedEx Services, responsible for all marketing, sales, customer service and retail operations for all FedEx Corp. operating companies, including the FedEx Office. He serves as board chair of Lumen Corp. and as a member of the Pentair Corp. Glenn earned a bachelor's in business from Ole Miss in 1977 and later an MBA from the University of Memphis.
Edith Kelly-Green: With her affinity for numbers, Kelly-Green pursued an accounting degree at Ole Miss. In 1974, she was hired by Touche Ross (now Deloitte), then one of the Big Eight accounting firms, becoming the first African American on the professional staff. In 1977, Kelly-Green began her almost 30-year career with FedEx Corp. where she served in several key roles and was the first African American female vice president at FedEx. Kelly-Green serves on several boards of NYSE companies and is a member of the Methodist Le Bonheur Health Care board.
Henry Paris: He began working for Lewis Grocer and Sunflower Food Stores, where he served as vice president. Paris' passion for Ole Miss continued over the years as he served as chair of the UM Foundation board in 1988.
Warner Alford: When Alford took over the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics in 1978, he became one of the nation's youngest ADs. After retiring as AD in 1994, Alford held positions with the UM Foundation, the Trent Lott Leadership Institute and the Office of Development.
Jan Farrington: Jan Farrington graduated from Ole Miss in 1965 with a bachelor's in secondary education and went on to teach in an inner-city high school and work at a bank. Farrington served on the Innovate Mississippi board of directors for many years and was chair. Farrington was the first woman to serve as UM Foundation board chair and is an emeritus member. She served as president of the Alumni Association and is on the executive board. She was a founding member and former chair of the Ole Miss Women's Council. board and the Baptist Anderson Medical Center board.
Ole Miss Alumni Association Honorees
The Ole Miss Alumni Association recognizes distinguished alumni for their achievements and service to the university.
Robert R. "Bobby" Bailess: Robert R. "Bobby" Bailess earned his undergraduate degree in business administration from Ole Miss in 1973 and played linebacker for the Rebels for the 1971-73 seasons. He has continued to practice with the same firm, now known as Bailess & Rector, in Vicksburg. Bailess is a fellow of the Mississippi Bar Foundation and served as a member of the Board of Bar Commissioners. He served as a board member and as chairman of the UM Foundation and serves on the executive committee of the Ole Miss Alumni Association.
David Ward Kellum: David Ward Kellum is director of broadcasting for the Learfield Ole Miss Radio Network and assistant to the athletics director for publicity. After graduation, he continued broadcasting Ole Miss women's basketball and baseball games and added Northwest Community College sports to his broadcast duties. Kellum was hired by NWCC and Three Rivers Planning and Development District to serve at the WIN Job Center in Oxford as rapid response coordinator and the C2C youth coordinator. Kellum was selected as voice of the Rebels for Ole Miss football and men's basketball in 1989. At age 30, he was one of just a few play-by-play announcers to do all three major sports in the Southeastern Conference.
John Maxwell: John Maxwell lives in Jackson but was raised on a cotton farm near Pickens. He began touring his one-man play, "Oh, Mr. Faulkner, Do You Write?" based on the life of Noble Laureate William Faulkner, throughout Mississippi in 1981. He has since toured the production to most of the continental United States and 10 foreign countries. Perhaps the most prestigious among his presentations was a partial production as a part of the Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta in 1996. He has written and produced several monologues and plays based on characters and stories of the Bible throughout much of the Southeast. He has won numerous fellowships in playwriting from the Mississippi Arts Council as well as a fellowship in playwriting from the Tennessee Williams Writing Conference in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Suzan Brown Thames: Suzan Brown Thames has served on several organizational boards for the university, including the UM Foundation, Ole Miss Women's Council and the executive committee of the Ole Miss Alumni Association. She was the 2015 recipient of the Ole Miss Alumni Service Award. Thames was chosen as Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year by the National Philanthropy Association in 2011.
Jon C. Turner: Jon C. Turner is a retired partner from the Jackson office of BKD/Forvis, where his public accounting experience with several firms spanned more than 40 years and multiple industries. A Belzoni native, Turner began his career with the international accounting firm of Peat Marwick Mitchell, now KPMG, in Jackson. He then joined a local firm that later became Smith, Turner & Reeves, which grew into one of the state's three largest CPA firms. Turner is a past president of the Ole Miss Alumni Association and has served multiple terms on the boards of the UM Foundation and the UM Athletics Committee. Turner was a co-founder and president of the Rebel Club of Jackson and later served as president of the Central Mississippi Alumni Club. He has been active as an adviser to Kappa Alpha Order and was awarded its highest honor, the "Knight Commander's Accolade" by the group's national organization and honored as "Alumnus of the Year" by the active chapter, who later named the award for him.
Mallory McCormack: A Mississippi native who grew up in north Alabama, McCormack earned an MBA from the university in 2015. She is also on the board of directors and has served as president for Christmas Charities Year Round, a local charity in Huntsville, Alabama, that provides free services and goods for economically challenged citizens. McCormack served on the Ole Miss Alumni Association board of directors from 2019 to 2021 and has been president of the Rocket City Rebel Club in Huntsville since 2015.
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