The following is a list of people associated with the University of Louisville.
Notable athletic alumni
Current NFL players
Current CFL players
Current AFL players
Current UFL players
Former pros
- David Akers (1992–95) – San Francisco 49ers kicker; five-time Pro Bowl selection (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2010)[53]
- Bruce Armstrong (1983–86) – former New England Patriots offensive lineman; played in the NFL for 14 seasons; six-time Pro Bowl selection (1990, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997); one of only 11 inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame; one of only seven to have his number retired[54]
- Deion Branch (2000–01) – New England Patriots wide receiver; Super Bowl XXXIX MVP with the New England Patriots, tied record for catches in a Super Bowl[55]
- Ray Buchanan (1989–91) – former Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, and Oakland Raiders defensive back[56]
- Curry Burns (1998–2002) – free agent safety[57]
- Michael Bush (2003–06) – Chicago Bears running back[58]
- Mark Clayton (1979–82) – former Miami Dolphins and Green Bay Packers wide receiver; five-time Pro Bowl selection (1984, 1985, 1986, 1988 and 1991)[59]
- Harry Douglas (2003–07) – Tennessee Titans wide receiver[60]
- Elvis Dumervil (2002–05) – Denver Broncos, Baltimore Ravens defensive end; tied the NCAA single-season sack record (24); was a first team All-American and the 2005 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner as college football's Defensive Player of the Year; 2005 Ted Hendricks Award as college football's top defensive end[61]
- Renardo Foster (2003–06) – free agent offensive lineman[62]
- William Gay (2003–06) – Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback[63]
- Antoine Harris (2002–05) – free agent defensive back[64]
- Nate Harris (2005–06) – free agent linebacker[65]
- Earl Heyman (2005–09) – New Orleans Saints defensive tackle[66]
- Ernest Givins (1984–85) – former Houston Oilers and Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver; two-time Pro Bowl selection (1990 and 1992)[67]
- Ernie Green (1959–62) – former Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns running back and fullback[68]
- Jay Gruden (1985–88) – former Arena Football League quarterback for the Tampa Bay Storm, led the team to four ArenaBowl championships; League MVP in 1992 and MVP of ArenaBowl VII; first quarterback inducted into the Arena Football Hall of Fame in 1998; head coach of the Washington Redskins; former head coach of the Orlando Predators, led the team to titles in ArenaBowls XII and XIII[69]
- Tom Jackson (1970–72) – former Denver Broncos linebacker; three-time Pro Bowl selection (1977–79); analyst on ESPN's NFL Gameday; two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year (1971, 1972)[70]
- Joe Jacoby (1977–80) – former Washington Redskins offensive lineman; key member of "The Hogs"; member of Super Bowl XVII, Super Bowl XXII, and Super Bowl XXVI Championship teams; four-time Pro Bowl selection (1983–86)[71]
- Brandon Johnson (2002–05) – Cincinnati Bengals linebacker[72]
- Chris Johnson (2001–02) – Oakland Raiders defensive back[73]
- Joe Johnson (1990–93) – former New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers defensive end; two-time Pro Bowl selection (1998 and 2000)[74]
- Stefan LeFors (2000–05; played 2001–04) – former quarterback with the Carolina Panthers in the NFL and the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the CFL; head high school football coach at the Christian Academy of Louisville[75]
- Lenny Lyles (1954–57) – drafted by the Baltimore Colts in the first round (11th overall) of the 1958 NFL Draft; one-time Pro Bowl selection; one of the first African American football players at the University of Louisville; often referred to as "the fastest man in football"[76]
- Sam Madison (1993–96) – former Miami Dolphins and New York Giants defensive back; four-time Pro Bowl selection (1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002)[77]
- Frank Minnifield (1979–82) – former Cleveland Browns defensive back; four-time Pro Bowl selection (1986–89); co-creator of the "Dawg Pound"; led nation in kickoff returns in 1981 and punt returns in 1982[78]
- Roman Oben (1991–95) – offensive lineman[79]
- Amobi Okoye (2003–06) – Chicago Bears defensive lineman[80]
- Richard Owens (1999–2003) – free agent tight end[81]
- Chris Redman (1996–99) – Atlanta Falcons quarterback; 1999 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award winner[82]
- Kerry Rhodes (2001–04) – Arizona Cardinals defensive back, 2005 NFL All-Rookie team[83]
- Kolby Smith (2003–06) – free agent running back[84]
- Jason Spitz (2002–05) – Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman[85]
- Montavious Stanley (2002–05) – free agent defensive tackle[86]
- Howard Stevens – running back, Baltimore Colts, New Orleans Saints; member of Louisville Athletic Hall of Fame[87]
- Johnny Unitas (1951–54) – former Baltimore Colts quarterback; Pro Football Hall of Fame member, three-time NFL Most Valuable Player[88]
- Dewayne White (2000–02) – Detroit Lions defensive end[89]
- Otis Wilson (1976–79) – first team All-American defensive end; member of the Chicago Bears Super Bowl XX Championship team[90]
Men's basketball
- Rakeem Buckles (2009–12) – professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Taqwa Pinero, formerly known as Taquan Dean (2003–05) – professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns (NBA Summer league 2008), Unicaja Málaga (2009–2010), Élan Béarnais Pau-Lacq-Orthez (2017–2019)
- Trey Lewis (2015–2016) – professional basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Mangok Mathiang (born 1992) – Australian-Sudanese basketball player for Hapoel Eilat of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
- Donovan Mitchell (2015–17) – professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz (2017–2022), Cleveland Cavaliers (2022–present)
- Chinanu Onuaku (born 1996) – basketball player
- Kenny Payne (1985–89) – professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers (1989–1993), coach for the University of Louisville (2022–present)
- Derek Smith (1979–82) – professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors (1982–1983), Los Angeles/San Diego Clippers (1983–1986), Sacramento Kings (1986–1989), Philadelphia 76ers (1989–1993), and Boston Celtics (1990–1991)
- Russ Smith – former NBA player, currently in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
All-Americans
(listed in chronological order)
Women's basketball
Baseball
- Zack Burdi – MLB pitcher in Arizona Diamondbacks organization
- Reid Detmers – MLB pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels
- Chris Dominguez – former MLB infielder and head coach for the Bellarmine Knights
- Adam Duvall – MLB player for the Atlanta Braves and formerly the San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds; 2016 All-Star and 2016 Home Run Derby participant
- Drew Ellis – MLB infielder, Seattle Mariners
- Cody Ege – former MLB pitcher
- Adam Engel – MLB outfielder, Chicago White Sox
- Kyle Funkhouser – MLB pitcher, Detroit Tigers
- Chad Green – MLB pitcher, New York Yankees
- Sean Green (1997–2000) – former MLB pitcher[111]
- Bryan Hoeing – MLB pitcher, Miami Marlins
- Zach Jackson, – former MLB pitcher
- Jarred Kelenic – MLB outfielder, Seattle Mariners
- Dean Kiekhefer – former MLB pitcher
- Matt Koch – MLB pitcher
- Fred Koster (1926–1928) – former MLB outfielder
- Trystan Magnuson – former MLB pitcher
- Justin Marks – former MLB pitcher
- Kyle McGrath – MLB pitcher
- Brendan McKay (2014–2017) – first baseman and pitcher, Tampa Bay Rays; consensus national college player of the year in 2017[112]
- Corey Ray – MLB outfielder, Milwaukee Brewers
- Josh Rogers – MLB pitcher, Miami Marlins
- B. J. Rosenberg – former MLB pitcher
- Will Smith – MLB catcher, Los Angeles Dodgers
- Nick Solak – MLB infielder, Texas Rangers
- Logan Wyatt – MLB first baseman, San Francisco Giants
- Tony Zych – former MLB pitcher
Track and field
- Tone Belt (2005–present) – won the 2007 NCAA indoor long jump national title, UofL's first-ever track national title in track and field[113]
- Andre Black (2005–present) – won the 2007 NCAA indoor triple jump national title, UofL's second-ever national title in track and field[114]
- Kelley Bowman (2002–06) – two-time All-American high jumper; finished 3rd in nation in the high jump at 2006 NCAA National Championships with a UofL record of 6 feet, 1.25 inches;[115] holds Kentucky high school girls' record (5 feet, 10.5 inches);[116] won four consecutive KY state titles at Berea High School; had 4th best jump in the nation in 2000[117]
- Wesley Korir (2006–08) – multiple All-America in distance running; winner of the 2012 Boston Marathon; member of the Kenyan Parliament, 2013–2017[118]
Other sports
List of presidents of the University of Louisville
There have been 28 presidents and five interim presidents of what is (or was once a part of) the University of Louisville.
Jefferson Seminary (1813–29)
- Edward Mann Butler 1813–16
- William Tompkins 1816–21
- Charles M. M'Crohan 1821–25
- Francis E. Goddard 1826–29
Louisville Collegiate Institute (1837–40)
Louisville College (1840–46)
- John Hopkins Harney 1840–44
Louisville Medical Institute (1837–1846)
University of Louisville (post merger of LMI and LC) (1846–present)
- Samuel Smith Nicholas 1846–47
- James Guthrie 1847–69
- Isaac Caldwell 1869–85
- James Speed Pirtle 1886–05
- Theodore L. Burnett 1905–11
- David William Fairleigh 1911–14
- Arthur Younger Ford 1914–26
- George Colvin 1926–28
- John Letcher Patterson 1928–29 (acting)
- Raymond Asa Kent 1929–43
- Einar William Jacobsen 1943–46
- Frederick William Stamm 1946–47 (acting)
- John Wilkinson Taylor 1947–50
- Eli Huston Brown III 1950–51 (acting)
- Philip Grant Davidson 1951–68
University of Louisville, as part of the Kentucky state system