List of Mississippi State University notable alumni

The following is a list of notable alumni of Mississippi State University.

Public service and activism

* Marsha Blackburn, United States House of Representative, representing Tennessee
* Cynthia Cooper, 2002 Time Person(s) of the Year
* Jess Dickinson, Mississippi Supreme Court Justice
* Charles D. Easley, Mississippi Supreme Court Justice
* Bill Hawks, Former USDA Undersecretary, Marketing and Regulatory Programs
* Kay Katz, Louisiana Republican National Committeewoman; member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Monroe
* Mark Keenum, USDA Undersecretary, Farm and Foreign Agricultural Service.
* Rhonda Keenum, Assistant to President George W. Bush (43) and Director of White House Public Liaison
* Barbara Masters, Former Director of USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service
* G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, Former U.S. Representative and author of the Montgomery G.I. Bill
* Hunter Moorhead, Special Assistant to President George W. Bush for Agriculture
* Billy McCoy, Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives
* Jim Newsome, President of the New York Mercantile Exchange
* John C. Stennis, Former U.S. Senator and "Father of the Modern Navy"
* Amy Tuck, Mississippi Lieutenant Governor
* William Waller Jr., MS Supreme Court Justice
* Tim Wildmon, President, American Family Association
* 11 Members of the Mississippi State Senate

Academia

* James Cofer, President of the University of Louisiana at Monroe
* Prescilla Dean Slade, President of the Texas Southern University
* Vivian Presley, President of Coahoma Community College
* Malcolm Portera, Chancellor of the University of Alabama System
* Louis H. Turcotte, Vice President of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
* Frances Lucas, President of Millsaps College
* Donald M. Rawson, Dean of the Graduate School, Northwestern State University at Natchitoches, Louisiana

Literary

*Turner Catledge, former Vice - President of The New York Times
*John Grisham, Author
*Gregory Keyes, Author
*Donna Ladd, Award-Winning Journalist
*Mike Adams, Townhall.com columnist and author of the "Ivory Tower of Babel"
*Lewis Nordan, Author
* [http://www.olemiss.edu/mwp/dir/ruffin_paul/index.html Paul Ruffin] , Author, Editor-in-Chief of "The Texas Review"

Business

* George Bryan, Sara Lee Corporation Vice-President and Organizer for the 54th U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship
* Fred Carl, Jr., Founder and CEO of Viking Range
* Toxey Haas, Founder and CEO, Mossy Oak Outdoors
* Ronnie Parker, Founder of Pizza Inn
* Avanti Sharma, Founder and CEO of The Anokhi Foundation
* Hartley Peavey, Founder of Peavey Electronics
* James L. Flanagan, (1948), technical pioneer in speech transmission and acoustics
* Joe Frank Sanderson, co-founder of Sanderson Farms
* Leo Seal, CEO Hancock Holding Company (Hancock Bank)
* Adrian Blocker, General Manager U.S. operations, West Fraser Timberland Inc.
* Arthur L. Williams, Jr. Insurance Magnate, #583 on the Forbes list of the World's Billionaires
* Richard C. Adkerson, CEO of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.

ports

* Jeff Brantley, Former Major League Baseball Relief Pitcher, currently a commentator for the Cincinnati Reds.
* Will Clark, Former 1st Baseman for San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, & Texas Rangers
* Johnie Cooks, Former NFL Star
* Hugh Critz, Notable 2nd Basemen for Cincinnati Reds (1920s) and the New York Giants (1930s)
* Erick Dampier, Dallas Mavericks Center
* David Dilardi, Major League Baseball Player
* Kevin Dockery - Cornerback for NFL New York Giants
* Sammy Ellis - Former Major League Baseball Pitcher - 7 seasons.
* Buddy Elrod - All-American End.
* Dave "Boo" Ferriss - Former Major League Baseball Player
* Joe Fortunato - Five-time Pro Bowler with the Chicago Bears.
* Steve Freeman - Former Buffalo Bills defensive back for 13 seasons and current NFL game official.
* Tom Goode - Former NFL Center. Super Bowl veteran.
* Alex Grammas, Major League infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds and manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers
* Hoyle Granger - Former NFL Running Back.
* Justin Griffith - Fullback for the Oakland Raiders.
* Michael Haddix - Former NFL Running Back.
* Mario Haggan – NFL linebacker
* Ron Hill - Vice President of the National Football League
* Bailey Howell, NBA Hall of Famer
* Kent Hull, Former Buffalo Bills Pro Bowl center
* Tyrone Keyes, Former Chicago Bears and Super Bowl veteran
* D. D. Lewis - Former All-Star Linebacker Dallas Cowboys. Member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
* Paul Maholm - Major League Baseball Pitcher. 2003 first round draft pick (8th overall).
* Jeff Malone - NBA-former player from 1984-1996 with the Washington Bullets, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat. All-Star in 1986 and 1987.
* Fred McCrary - NFL Running back.
* Bo McKinnis - Sports agent.
* Tiffany McWilliams - Professional Track Athlete
* Eric Moulds – NFL Pro Bowl wide receiver
* Buddy Myer - Major League Baseball 2-time All-Star second baseman
* Tom Neville - Former NFL Offensive Tackle - 14 seasons.
* Jerious Norwood – NFL running back for the Atlanta Falcons
* Rafael Palmeiro - Major League Baseball Player
* Jonathan Papelbon - Major League Baseball Pitcher
* Jackie Parker - Former All-Star Quarterbck CFL. Member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
* Jay Powell - Former Major League Baseball Relief Pitcher - 11 seasons, and World Series veteran.
* Don Magruder Scott - Olympic Sprinter.
* Buck Showalter, former baseball manager
* Barrin Simpson - National Football League linebacker
* Fred Smoot - National Football League cornerback for the Washington Redskins.
* Walter Suggs - Former All-Star Lineman for Houston Oilers.
* Bobby Thigpen Former Major League Baseball Relief Pitcher
* Del Unser - Major League Baseball former outfielder for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, and Montreal Expos. Won World Series with Phillies in 1980
* Jimmy Webb - Former NFL Defensive Lineman - 7 seasons.
* Jonathan Wing - Former Professional Volleyball Star

Miscellaneous

* Joey Beachum, Winner of the 2008 Jeopardy! College Championship
* Frank K. Spain, Founder of Tupelo television station WTVA; broadcasting pioneer
* Jerry Clower, Comedian
* Sean McLaughlin, MSNBC Chief Meteorologist
* 4 of 6 NBC Weather Plus Anchors