47 Notable alumni of Eastern Illinois University

Darrin Steele is an American bobsledder. He competed at the 1998 Winter Olympics and the 2002 Winter Olympics. A native of Sherrard, Illinois, Steele graduated from Eastern Illinois University with a degree in economics. Steele was a member of the Eastern Illinois Panthers track and field team from 1989 to 1992.

Brandon Phelps is a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, representing the 118th District from January 2003 to September 2017. The 118th district, located in Southern Illinois, includes all or parts of Anna, Belknap, Belle Prairie City, Brookport, Broughton, Buncombe, Burnside, Cairo, Carbondale, Carrier Mills, Cave-In-Rock, Cypress, Dahlgren, Dongola, East Cape Girardeau, Eddyville, Eldorado, Elizabethtown, Equality, Galatia,...

Malcolm L. McCallum is an American environmental scientist, conservationist, herpetologist, and natural historian and is known for his work on the Holocene Extinction. He is also a co-founder of the herpetology journal, Herpetological Conservation and Biology. He is a key figure in amphibian biology and his research has produced numerous landmark studies. His work has been covered by David Attenborough,...

Carlos Maurice Talbott was a United States Air Force officer who attained the rank of lieutenant general and was vice commander in chief of the Pacific Air Forces, headquartered at Hickam Air Force Base.

Matthew "Matt" Bobo is an American soccer player who last played for Carolina RailHawks in the North American Soccer League.

William Dean Fausett was an American painter. His career spanned over six decades. He painted notable figures like Dwight D. Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Grandma Moses, Ezra Taft Benson, and Sir Alexander Fleming. His brother Lynn Fausett was also a painter. Fausett also purchased the historic house of Cephas Kent, Jr. in Dorset, Vermont and...

Sue Carol Payton was United States Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) from 2006 to 2009. She was born in Champaign, Illinois.

Barton Wallace Zeller is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He played one game in Major League Baseball in 1970 for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Robert L. "Bob" Corn-Revere is an American First Amendment lawyer. Corn-Revere is the Chief Counsel at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and was formerly a partner at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Washington, D.C. He is regularly listed as a leading First Amendment and media law practitioner by The Best Lawyers in America (Woodward/White), SuperLawyers Washington, D.C., and...

Guy Albert Carlton was an American weightlifter who won a bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1979 Pan American Games.

Gary Forrester (born 3 July 1946) is a musician, composer, novelist, poet, short-story writer, biographer, memoirist, playwright, academic, and historian based in Rotorua, New Zealand. He was profiled by Random House Australia (Australian Country Music, 1991) as one of the major figures in the Australian music scene during the 1980s and 1990s, and in New Zealand by FishHead: Wellington's Magazine...

Lee Martin is an American author. Born in Illinois, he lived on a farm ten miles from Sumner, which he regards as his home town. He lived in Oak Forest, Illinois, and attended Kimberly Heights Elementary School, where his mother worked as a teacher, and Arbor Park Middle School from 1963 to 1969. Martin was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize...

Rodney Watson is an American basketball coach and the former head coach for the University of Southern Indiana. Watson succeeded Rick Herdes, who resigned following a scandal that ultimately resulted in suspension from postseason play for one year.

Lauren Doyle is an American rugby sevens player. She won a silver medal at the 2015 Pan American Games as a member of the United States women's national rugby sevens team and represented the United States at 3 Olympic Games: 2016, 2020, and 2024.

Randy Melvin is an American gridiron football coach who is the defensive line coach for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Chris "Canuck Truck" Szarka is a Canadian former professional football fullback who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 1997 to 2010. He also served as a member of the Regina City Council.

Ted Petersen is an American former professional football offensive lineman. He played for nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, and Indianapolis Colts. Petersen is the former athletic director at Kankakee Community College in Kankakee, Illinois.

Dan Steele is an American bobsledder and track and field athlete who competed from the early 1990s to 2002. Competing in two Winter Olympics, he won the bronze medal in the four-man event at Salt Lake City in 2002. He was recently one of the most successful collegiate track and field coaches in America.

Greg McMahon is a retired American football coach who was most recently the special teams coordinator for the Tulane Green Wave. He is the former special teams coordinator at Louisiana State University (LSU).

Alexander Hollins is an American professional football wide receiver for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for Eastern Illinois. Hollins has played for the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, and BC Lions.

Candace Groth Fleming is an American writer of children's books, both fiction and non-fiction. She is the author of more than twenty books for children and young adults, including the Los Angeles Times Book Prize-honored The Family Romanov and the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award-winning biography, The Lincolns, among others.

Joseph Kastl Knollenberg was an American politician from Michigan. From 1993 to 2009, he was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Michigan's 9th congressional district and Michigan's 11th congressional district.

Schellas Hyndman is a retired soccer coach. He was previously head coach of FC Dallas in Major League Soccer.

Zachary Borenstein is an American former professional baseball outfielder.

Henry Domercant is an American-born naturalized Bosnian professional basketball coach and former player currently working as an assistant coach for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Eastern Illinois, and was an All-EuroLeague Second Team selection in 2012.

Timothy Paul Bogar is an American professional baseball coach and former infielder, manager, and front-office executive. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Houston Astros, and Los Angeles Dodgers, coached for the Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Washington Nationals, and managed the Rangers.

Charlotte Ann Martin is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performs predominantly on the piano. She has published several studio albums, two of which have received mainstream commercial releases: 2004's On Your Shore and 2006's Stromata. In 2009, she issued an instrumental piano album titled Piano Trees, which was followed by Dancing on Needles, on February 1, 2011.

Kevin Lee Seitzer is an American former professional baseball third baseman who is currently the hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. He has also served as the hitting coach for the Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, Toronto Blue Jays, and Atlanta...

Kirby Keyes Wilson is an American football coach who was previously a running backs coach in the National Football League (NFL) for 23 seasons. He coached for the New England Patriots, Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals and Oakland / Las Vegas Raiders. He was previously the head coach for the Pittsburgh Maulers...

Mary Elizabeth Miller is an American far-right politician and farmer serving as the U.S. representative for Illinois's 15th congressional district since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, she serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on Education & Labor, and the Committee on House Administration.

William Edward Phipps was an American actor and producer, sometimes credited simply as William Phipps, known for his roles in films and on television.

Nicholas Maton is an American professional baseball utility player who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers, Baltimore Orioles, and Chicago White Sox. Maton played college baseball at Eastern Illinois University and Lincoln Land Community College. He was selected by the Phillies in the seventh round of the...

James John Liautaud is an American restaurateur, who is widely known as the founder and former chairman of Jimmy John's sandwich chain.

Alfonzo McKinnie is an American professional basketball player who last played for Busan KCC Egis of the Basketball Champions League Asia. He played college basketball for Eastern Illinois University and University of Wisconsin–Green Bay.

LisaRaye McCoy, known as LisaRaye, is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Diana "Diamond" Armstrong in the 1998 film The Players Club, Neesee James on the UPN/The CW sitcom All of Us from 2003 until 2007 and Keisha Greene in the VH1 romantic comedy series Single Ladies which originally aired from 2011 to 2015. She was also...

Kimberly Ann Cheatle is an American former law enforcement officer who served as the 27th director of the United States Secret Service from 2022 until 2024. After serving in the Secret Service from 1995 to 2019, she worked as senior director of global security at PepsiCo from 2019 to 2022. Appointed director of the Secret Service by President Joe Biden,...

John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer and director. He is the recipient of several accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, in addition to nominations for two Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.

Joan Allen is an American actress. Known for her work on stage and screen, she has received various accolades, including a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.

Harry Conway Forrester was an American basketball coach who led the way in integrating the sports teams of Quincy University in the racially segregated 1950s. When Quincy played at the NAIA (now NCAA) national tournament in 1955, it was the only team with African American members.

Matthew Allen Hughes is an American retired mixed martial artist with a background in wrestling. Widely considered among the greatest fighters in the history of MMA, he is a former two-time UFC Welterweight Champion, UFC Hall of Fame inductee, and NJCAA Hall of Fame inductee. During his ventures in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Hughes put together two six-fight winning streaks...

John Thomas Myers was an American politician who served 15 terms as a Republican congressman from Indiana's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1997.

Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives was an American singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades.

David Wayne Dugan is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

James Robert Edgar was an American politician who served as the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. A moderate Republican, he previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1977 to 1979 and as the 35th Secretary of State of Illinois from 1981 to 1991.

Tisa A. Mason is an American educator and the current president of Fort Hays State University. Prior to her presidency at Fort Hays State, Mason served as Valley City State University's president from December 15, 2014, to December 15, 2017. Mason served as Fort Hays State's vice president of student affairs from July 2008 to December 2014.

Delbert Bernard Unser is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder and utility player from 1968 to 1982, most prominently with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he was a member of the 1980 World Series winning team. He also played for the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, New York Mets and the Montreal...