This is a list of Illinois State University alumni who are notable enough to warrant an article in Wikipedia. The list is organized by general fields of achievement.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations during the Carter Administration. He is presently a Distinguished Professor of Diplomacy at Georgetown University.
Norbert Blei – author of the Chicago trilogy of Neighborhoods, The Ghost of Sandburg-Es Phizzog, and Chi Town.[7]
Mort Castle – writer specializing in the horror genre. He has written seven novels, two short story collections, and hundreds of "shorter works."[8]
Kate Charles – mystery novelist who bases all of her novels out of the Church of England. Her works include Evil Angels Among Them, Unruly Passions, and Cruel Habitations.[9]
Eric Rohmann – author and illustrator of children's books. He received the 2003 Caldecott medal for My Friend Rabbit. He also received a 1995 Caldecott Honor book award for Time Flies. His other titles include The Cinder Cats and The Prairie Train.[10]
Lorene Ramsey is a retired women's basketball coach of Illinois Central College, who with a career record of 887–197, won more games than any other women's basketball coach at any college level.[77]
Jeff Wilkins was a professional basketball player (1977–93).
Margie Wright was named to the USA Olympic softball team as an assistant coach for the 1996 Atlanta Games, and became in 2000 the softball coach with the most all-time NCAA wins.[88]
David McFadzean, writer and producer, created the TV series Home Improvement and was executive producer for the films Where the Heart Is and What Women Want.[92]
Laurie Metcalf (1976), one of the six actors to win Tony Awards in consecutive years (2017–2018). She also won three Emmy awards for the role of Jackie on the television series Roseanne.[5]
^Craft, Dan (December 4, 2003), "Illinois State graduate Suzy Bogguss brings her latest sounds back home", The Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL, USA)
^Clarke, Dave (June 2, 2009), "Suzy Bogguss to sing for the folks back home", Star Courier (Kewanee, IL, USA), archived from the original on June 26, 2009, retrieved December 27, 2009, Suzy Bogguss fans will want to be in Aledo Saturday for the 18th annual Rhubarb Fest ... After high school she went to Illinois State University, where she earned a degree in, of all things, metalsmithing.
^"Syleena Johnson". Illinois State University Alumni Association. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
^"Gregory Kunde"(PDF). Illinois State University. Archived from the original(PDF) on May 27, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
^"Michelle Williams". Illinois State University Alumni Association. Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
^"Party". Archived from the original on February 4, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
^"Jeremy Accardo". statistics and biographic information. The Baseball Cube. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Dave Bergman". statistics and biographical information. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Dave Bergman". Hall of Fame profile. Illinois State University Athletics Department. Archived from the original on January 11, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Lee Capra". Hall of Fame profile. Illinois State University Athletics Department. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Aveion Cason". statistics and biographical information. National Football League. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Doug Collins". Hall of Fame profile. Illinois State University Athletics Department. Archived from the original on January 12, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^Ziehm, Len (February 21, 2001), "Overcoming all obstacles Illinois State standout Bryson making a name for himself", Chicago Sun-Times, Doug Collins put Illinois State on the college basketball map, piling up points for the Redbirds in the early 1970s before going on to success as a player, coach and commentator in the NBA. Since 1973, Collins has reigned as ISU's career scoring leader with 2,240 points. But Tarise Bryson is taking dead aim on that mark, and Collins has noticed.
^"Neal Cotts". statistics and biographical information. The Baseball Cube. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^Goldberg, Matt (March 17, 2004). "ISU's Cotts tries to make White Sox". University Wire report. The Daily Vidette. Retrieved December 26, 2009. If former Illinois State baseball player Neal Cotts never ended up injuring his leg his junior year in high school, he might have never made it to where he is today. Today he is on the Chicago White Sox 40-man roster and hopes to make the final roster when they cut the team to 25-players in the next few days.
^"Luke Drone". CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
^"Steve Fisher". biographic sketch. San Diego State University Athletics Department. Archived from the original on January 10, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^Willhite, Lindsey (March 12, 2002), "Fisher returns to his Illinois roots this week", Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL, USA), retrieved December 26, 2009, For a "Michigan man," as Bo Schembechler so famously described Steve Fisher when handing him the Wolverines' team prior to the 1989 NCAA Tournament, Fisher sure seems like an Illinois guy. He grew up in Herrin, prime coal-mining country in the southern part of the state. He attended Illinois State University and played three years of varsity ball there in the mid-1960s.
^"Kevin Glenn". statistics and biographic information. Canadian Football League. Archived from the original on July 4, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^Zelkovich, Chris (November 13, 2009), "Ticats' Glenn: From stardom to scrap heap and back: Quarterback stays positive during journey", The Toronto Star, retrieved December 26, 2009, In 2007, Glenn was the East nominee for the CFL's most outstanding player award. His Winnipeg Blue Bombers were in the division final. ... Turning negatives into positives is something Glenn's been doing all his life. When he was a kid, he was told he was too small to play QB. When he went to high school, he heard it again. And again at Illinois State, where 5-foot-10 quarterbacks weren't considered top NCAA material.
^Woods, Linda (June 30, 2009), "Boomer Grigsby happy to visit his hometown, eager to help kids", The Daily Ledger (Canton, IL, USA); GateHouse News Service, archived from the original on July 4, 2009, retrieved December 26, 2009, Grigsby, 27, has played in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Miami Dolphins, and this season will join the Houston Texans. Grigsby started his football career at Canton High School and then played football for Illinois State University before playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.
^"Boomer Grigsby". statistics and biographic information. National Football League. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Brent Hawkins". statistics and biographical information. National Football League. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^Pinkham, Paul (January 15, 2008), "Jaguars player arrested for DUI: Police say DE Hawkins was speeding and appeared intoxicated", The Florida Times-Union, retrieved December 26, 2009, The report says Hawkins, 24, told officers he had three vodka and orange juice drinks and said he had a previous driving under the influence case in Illinois, where he attended Illinois State University before being drafted by the Jaguars in 2006 in the fifth round.
^"Matt Herges". statistics and biographical information. The Baseball Cube. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^McFadden, Adam (May 8, 2009). "Broxton soars in closer rankings". SI.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2009. Dan Kolb has always been a captivating case for me. The Illinois State graduate didn't distinguish himself much in his first four seasons in the majors. Then he got the opportunity to close for the Milwaukee Brewers halfway through 2003. After some success, he entered 2004 as the Brewers' closer
^"Danny Kolb". statistics and biographical information. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Tom Nelson". statistics and biographic sketch. Cincinnati Bengals. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Mike Prior". Hall of Fame profile. Illinois State University Athletics Department. Archived from the original on January 11, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^Kuchta, Chris (December 14, 2009), "Marian Catholic's Greatest Athlete: Mike Prior", Southtown Star (Tinley Park, IL, USA), retrieved December 26, 2009, After a dominant prep run, the 6-foot, 200-pounder took his skills to Illinois State University and quickly became one of the biggest Redbirds on campus. Prior played four years of both football and baseball in Normal and still holds the Illinois State and Missouri Valley Conference record for career interceptions (24). He is also the Redbirds' career punt return yardage leader with 906 yards.[permanent dead link]
^"Laurent Robinson". statistics and biographical information. National Football League. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^Reinhardt, Randy (November 23, 2009), "Injured Rams WR Robinson returns to ISU", The Daily Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL, USA), retrieved December 26, 2009, Traded to the "perfect situation," the 2009 season did not stay perfect very long for former Illinois State wide receiver Laurent Robinson.[dead link]
^"D. A. Weibring". statistics and biographic information. Professional Golf Association (PGA). Archived from the original on January 1, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"BOT Approves Naming of Golf Course for D. A. Weibring" (Press release). Illinois State University Media Relations. July 27, 2007. Archived from the original on May 17, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2009. Illinois State University's Board of Trustees today approved the naming of the University golf course to the Weibring Golf Club at Illinois State University in recognition of Weibring's commitment and contribution to Redbird Athletics and his achievements as a Professional Golf Association (PGA) member.
^"Donald Weibring". Hall of Fame profile. Illinois State University Athletics Department. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Tom Wieghaus". Hall of Fame profile. Illinois State University Athletics Department. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^"Tom Wieghaus". statistics and biographic information. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
^Ryan, Maureen (September 15, 2009), "Lafayette on 'True Blood': Chicago actor savors role: He plays cook on HBO vampire show", Chicago Tribune, retrieved December 26, 2009, And according to Nelsan Ellis, the Chicago native who plays Lafayette, that was just fine with the tart-tongued Merlotte's cook ... The actor, who was born in Harvey, spent much of his youth in Alabama and returned to the Chicago area at age 14 to attend Dolton's Thornridge High School. He later studied at Columbia College Chicago and Illinois State University and trained as an actor at New York's prestigious Juilliard School.
