26 Notable alumni of Grambling State University
Updated: June 14, 2026 EliteDegrees
Grambling State University is ranked #3,722 in the world and #983 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 26 notable alumni from Grambling State University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Grambling State University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Carlton Hardy
1971-. (aged 55)
baseball player
Carlton Hardy is an American college baseball coach. He is the head baseball coach at Alcorn State University.
2. Bob French
1938-2012 (aged 74)
radio personality
jazz musician
Robert "Bob" French Sr. was an American jazz drummer and radio show host at WWOZ, from New Orleans, Louisiana. French led The Tuxedo Jazz Band from 1977 until his death in 2012. (The Tuxedo Jazz Band was formerly led by Oscar "Papa" Celestin and later by French's father, Albert "Papa" French from 1958 to 1977).
+ show more
3. Maestro Curtis
1956-. (aged 70)
composer
musician
Maestro Curtis, also known as Maestro Brian, is an American musician, composer, author, producer, arranger and music executive.
4. Guy Prather
1958-2016 (aged 58)
American football player
Guy Tyrone Prather was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played five seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
5. Cedric Glover
1965-. (aged 61)
politician
Cedric Bradford Glover is a Democratic Party politician who is a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, representing District 4. He was earlier the two-term mayor of Shreveport, Louisiana, the first African-American to hold that position.
+ show more
6. Raychel Proudie
1983-. (aged 43)
politician
Raychel Crystal Proudie is an American politician who is a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 73rd district in St. Louis County.
7. Alicia Reece
1971-. (aged 55)
politician
Alicia Michelle Reece is a Democratic politician currently serving as a Hamilton County Commissioner. She formerly served as a member of the Ohio House of Representatives for the 33rd district. She was previously the Vice Mayor of Cincinnati from 2002 to 2007.
+ show more
8. Brion Rush
1984-. (aged 42)
basketball player
Brion Rush is an American professional basketball player for the Crailsheim Merlins of the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). He played college basketball for Grambling State University.
+ show more
9. Paul "Tank" Younger
1928-2001 (aged 73)
American football player
Paul Lawrence "Tank" Younger was an American professional football player who was a fullback, halfback, and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) from 1949 through 1958. He played college football for Grambling State University, was the first NFL player from a predominantly black college, and was the first African American to become an NFL front-office administrator (scout and executive...
+ show more
10. Tommie Agee
1942-2001 (aged 59)
baseball player
Tommie Lee Agee was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a center fielder from 1962 through 1973, most notably as a member of the New York Mets team that became known as the Miracle Mets when they rose from being perennial losers to defeat the favored Baltimore Orioles in the 1969 World Series for...
+ show more
11. Lou Jackson
1935-1969 (aged 34)
baseball player
Louis Clarence Jackson was an American professional baseball player. Jackson, an outfielder, played Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball between 1958 and 1968, appearing in 34 games over parts of three seasons in the Majors for the Chicago Cubs and Baltimore Orioles, and in 329 games over three seasons in Japan for the Sankei Atoms. He attended Grambling State...
+ show more
12. Sammy White
1954-. (aged 72)
American football player
Sammy White is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 10 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL).
+ show more
13. Ernie Ladd
1938-2007 (aged 69)
professional wrestler
American football player
Ernest L. Ladd, nicknamed "the Big Cat", was an American professional football defensive tackle and professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd attended Grambling State University on a basketball scholarship before being drafted in 1961 by the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League (AFL). Ladd found success in the AFL as one of the largest players...
+ show more
14. Charles M. Blow
1970-. (aged 56)
writer
graphic designer
journalist
columnist
Charles McRay Blow is an American journalist, commentator and former op-ed columnist for The New York Times and political analyst for MSNBC.
15. Buck Buchanan
1940-1992 (aged 52)
American football player
Junious "Buck" Buchanan was an American professional football defensive tackle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Buchanan was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He was selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary Team. His was...
+ show more
16. E-40
1967-. (aged 59)
songwriter
rapper
entrepreneur
actor
Earl Tywone Stevens, better known by his stage name E-40, is an American rapper. Stevens is a founding member of the rap group The Click and the founder of Sick Wid It Records. He has released 27 studio albums to date, appeared on numerous movie soundtracks, and has also done guest appearances on a host of other rap albums. Initially...
+ show more
17. Doug Williams
1955-. (aged 71)
American football player
Douglas Lee Williams is an American professional football executive and former quarterback and coach who is a senior advisor for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). Williams was the first black quarterback to both start and win a Super Bowl, doing so with Washington in Super Bowl XXII when they were known as the Redskins. He was...
+ show more
18. Willis Reed
1942-2023 (aged 81)
basketball player
basketball coach
Willis Reed Jr. was an American professional basketball player, coach, and general manager. He spent his entire ten-year pro playing career (1964–1974) with the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Reed was a seven-time NBA All-Star and five-time All-NBA selection, including once on the first team in 1970, when he was named the NBA Most Valuable Player...
+ show more
19. Ronnie Coleman
1964-. (aged 62)
police officer
bodybuilder
American football player
Ronald Dean Coleman is an American former professional bodybuilder who is widely regarded as the greatest bodybuilder of all time. Known as "The King", Coleman shares the all-time record for most Mr. Olympia titles at eight with Lee Haney. The winner of 26 IFBB professional titles including the Mr. Olympia for eight consecutive years, he is also renowned for his...
+ show more
20. Erykah Badu
1971-. (aged 55)
jazz musician
composer
singer-songwriter
actor
writer
Erica Abi Wright, known professionally as Erykah Badu, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Influenced by R&B, soul, and hip-hop, Badu rose to prominence in the late 1990s when her debut studio album Baduizm (1997), placed her at the forefront of the neo soul movement, earning her the nickname "Queen of Neo Soul" by music critics.
+ show more
21. Stephanie A. Finley
1966-. (aged 60)
lawyer
Stephanie Ann Finley is the former United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana and is a former nominee to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
+ show more
22. Rick Gallot
1966-. (aged 60)
lawyer
politician
Richard Joseph Gallot Jr., known as Rick Gallot was named president of the University of Louisiana System in October 2023 after serving nearly nine years as president of Grambling State Also he was a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate for District 29. In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 22, 2011, Gallot received 12,992 votes (50.3 percent).
+ show more
23. Burl Cain
1942-. (aged 84)
prison warden
Nathan Burl Cain is an American corrections officer and prison warden who currently serves as the commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and the former warden at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in West Feliciana Parish, north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He worked there for twenty-one years, from January 1995 until his resignation in 2016.
+ show more
24. Gary Johnson
1952-2010 (aged 58)
American football player
Gary Earl Johnson is an American businessman and politician who served as the 29th governor of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003 as a member of the Republican Party. He has been a member of the Libertarian Party since 2011 and was the party's nominee in the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections. He was also the Libertarian nominee in the...
+ show more
25. Margaret Carter
1935-. (aged 91)
civil rights advocate
teaching assistant
mental health counselor
salesperson
women's rights activist
Margaret Louise Carter is an American politician who was a Democratic member of the Oregon Legislative Assembly from 1985 to 1999 and 2001 to 2009 and was the first black woman elected to the state's legislature. She served in the Oregon House of Representatives until 1999, and then in the Oregon State Senate from 2001 to 2009. She served as...
+ show more
26. Alma Dawson
1943-2025 (aged 82)
teacher
librarian
Alma Dawson was an American scholar of librarianship. She retired as Russell B. Long Professor at the School of Library & Information Science, Louisiana State University in 2014 and was awarded Emeritus status in 2015. In 2019 Dr. Dawson was honored with the Essae Martha Culver Distinguished Service Award from the Louisiana Library Association which honors a librarian whose professional...
+ show more