Here at the University of Oklahoma, we accept all kinds students, and produce all kinds of stars! From athletes to astronauts, this list of well-known alumni is sure to inspire you to go for the gold.
1. Mickey Mantle, B.A. (incomplete). Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995) was an American professional baseball player. Although he was born in Spavinaw, Oklahoma, his family moved to Commerce when Mickey was four years old. He grew up to be an all-around athlete and was offered a football scholarship at OU. After getting injured in a practice game his sophomore year, Mantle gave up football for good and pursued his first true love- baseball. Mantle played 18 seasons as a center fielder and first baseman for the New York Yankees from 1951 to 1968. He is often referred to as one of the greatest switch hitters of all time.
2. Olivia Munn, B.A. in Journalism. Born in Oklahoma City, Munn spent most of her childhood in Tokyo, Japan where her stepfather was stationed. There she was cast in several local theater productions and later became a model in the Japanese fashion industry. When her mother and stepfather divorced she moved back to Oklahoma, graduating from Putnam City North High School. After graduating from OU, Munn interned at the NBC affiliate center in Tulsa before moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. She’s best known for her roles in Magic Mike (2012), Deliver Us from Evil (2014), Iron Man 2 (2010), and brief time on TV series New Girl (2012) and Greek (2009).
3. Sam Bradford, B.A. in finance. Bradford was born in Oklahoma City and graduated from Putnam City North as a star athlete on the football, basketball and golf teams. The two to three-star recruit accepted a football scholarship to OU and played for Bob Stoops from 2007 to 2009. During this time, Bradford was awarded the Heisman Trophy (2008), Consensus All-American (2008) and first-team All-Big 12 (2008). In 2010, Bradford entered the draft and was chosen by the St. Louis Rams in round 1 as pick 1 and has played for the team ever since. He was awarded the AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the year (2010) and Rams Rookie of the Year (2010).
4. Elizabeth Garrett, B.A. in history, Chi Omega. Born in 1963, Garrett is a law professor and academic administrator. In 2005, Garrett was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve on the nine-member bipartisan President’s Advisory Panel for Federal Tax Reform and in 2009 President Barack Obama nominated Garrett to be Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy in the Department of Treasury. She soon withdrew her nomination for personal family reasons. Garrett began her tenure at the University of Southern California in 2003 and since 2010 she has served as the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. On July 1, 2015, she will become the 13th president, and first female president of Cornell University.
5. Fred Haise, Jr., B.S. with honors in Aeronautical Engineering. Haise, born in 1933, is an aeronautical engineer, former test pilot and NASA astronaut. Raised in Mississippi, he graduated from a local junior college with the hope of having a career in journalism. Because he was eligible for the draft, he chose to join the naval aviation cadet training program eventually serving as a US Marine Corps fighter pilot. After returning to school and obtaining his bachelor’s degree from OU, he served in the Oklahoma Air National Guard. In 1966 Haise was selected as one of 19 new astronauts for NASA Astronaut Group 5. This lead him to serve as backup Lunar Module Pilot for both Apollo 8 and Apollo 11. Haise flew as the Lunar Module Pilot on the aborted Apollo 13 mission. Because of the issues involved with the mission, its likely that Haise, along with the rest of his team, holds the record for the furthest distance ever traveled by humans from Earth.
6. Jennifer Berry, B.A. in Elementary Education from OU. Berry won the title of Miss Oklahoma in 2005 and Miss America 2006, becoming the fifth Miss America winner to represent Oklahoma. Born in Houston, Texas, Berry grew up in Tulsa, graduating fro Jenks High School in 2001. The year Berry was crowed was the first time the pageant was hosted in Las Vegas, making her the first titleholder crowned outside the original home of the pageant, Atlantic City. Her platform issue was “Building Intolerance to Drunk Driving and Underage Drinking.” She was a national spokesperson for Mothers Against Drunk Driving during her term.
7. James Gardner, horary Doctor of Humane Letters, James Gardner was born in Norman, Oklahoma in 1928 and died this year at age 86. A child of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, his childhood was hard. He lost his mother, who was half-Cherokee, and his father abandoned Gardner and his two brothers. Gardner became the first Oklahoman drafted to the US Army during the Korean War in 1950. After returning safely home, his big break came with the Western TV series Maverick (1957-60). Gardner is known for starring in several hit films including The Great Escape (1963), Grand Prix (1966), and the Oscar-winning Victor Victoria (1982). He got an Oscar nomination in 1985 and won a Golden Globe in 1990. You know him because he’s in Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) and plays old Noah in The Notebook (2004). Gardner was succeeded by his two daughters and wife of almost 58 years.
8. Troy Aikman, B.A. (transferred before completion), Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Troy Aikman was born in Henryetta, Oklahoma in 1966. Although the New York Mets offered Aikman a contract out of high school, he rejected it to pursue a football career at the OU with Barry Switzer. Aikman started his freshman year, but was replaced by Jamelle Holieway when an ankle injury took him out for the season. Not wanting to play second fiddle to Holieway, Aikman transferred to UCLA. In 1989, Aikman was the no. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft, selected by the Dallas Cowboys. He stuck with the Cowboys for twelve consecutive seasons, leading the team as the quarterback to three Super Bowl victories and was awarded the Super Bowl XXVII MVP. Aikman was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 and College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Aikman currently works as a sportscaster for Fox.
9. Adrian Peterson, B.A. (never completed). Palestine, Texas was the birthplace of the Minnesota Vikings’ running back. Peterson was blessed by athletic genes and was undoubtedly one of the best athletes in high school sports. In addition to football, Peterson was a gifted runner who had the potential to become an Olympic sprinter. The five-star recruit played under Stoops from 2004 to 2006 and during that time broke several NCAA freshman rushing records. Peterson was the first Oklahoma freshman recognized as a First-Team Associated Press All-American. Forgoing his senior year in favor of the draft, Peterson was selected as the seventh overall pick by the Minnesota Vikings. He was awarded NFL MVP (2008 and 2012), as well as a laundry list of other awards and accolades. In September 2014 he was charged with reckless or negligent injury to a child, eventually ruining any hope he would play again this season.
10. Melissa Rycroft, B.A. in marketing (completed at UNT), Alpha Chi Omega. A Dallas-born star, Rycroft is well known as a TV personality. She started her reality television career on the pilot season of the CMT reality TV series Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team. She danced on the team for two seasons, in 2006 and 2007. She then joined the thirteenth season of ABC’s The Bachelor, making it all the way to the final rose ceremony, and got a proposal! Viewers, and Rycroft, were in for a shock in the ‘after the final rose’ episode when her fiancé, Jason Mesnick, told Rycroft and millions of viewers, that he did not love her. Rycroft bounced back, marrying her on-and-off again boyfriend Tye Strickland. Rycroft also participated in season eight of Dancing with the Stars, coming in third place. In the fifteenth season of DWTS she returned as an “All-Star” contestant and won in November 2012, earning the coveted mirror ball trophy.
