# Famous UT Austin alumni

Notable Longhorns by field, with the degree and year UT and Texas Exes print for each

**29** UT alumni named by UT News or the Texas Exes

From Governor Greg Abbott and Laura Bush to Matthew McConaughey, Earl Campbell and four Nobel Prize winners.

Search the list by name or field, like Nobel or governor.

[See every Texas Exes award winner](https://www.texasexes.org/about-us/awards/distinguished-alumnus-award-0)

## 29 famous Longhorns, by field

Government, business, film and TV, science and sports. Search by name or field.

- Greg Abbott · Government · 48th Governor of Texas**BBA 1981**
- Laura Bush · Government · Former first lady of the United States**MLS 1973**
- Bill McRaven · Government · Distinguished Alumnus Award 2012: UT System chancellor and commander of U.S. Special Operations Command**BJ 1977**
- Don Evans · Government · Distinguished Alumnus Award 2002: U.S. Secretary of Commerce**BS 1969, MBA 1973**
- Pete Geren · Government · Former U.S. Secretary of the Army and U.S. House member**BA 1975, JD 1978**
- Ron Kirk · Government · Former mayor of Dallas**JD 1979**
- Wallace Jefferson · Government · First African-American chief justice of the Supreme Court of Texas**JD 1988**
- Jeannie Leavitt · Government · Retired U.S. Air Force major general**BS 1990**
- Michael Dell · Business · Chairman of the Board of Dell Inc.**1983 (no degree listed)**
- Rex Tillerson · Business · Distinguished Alumnus Award 2007: CEO of Exxon Mobil**BS 1975**
- Gary Kelly · Business · Distinguished Alumnus Award 2010: Chairman, president and CEO of Southwest Airlines**BBA 1977**
- Bill Gurley · Business · General partner at Benchmark Capital**MBA 1993**
- Jeff Hildebrand · Business · Founder of Hilcorp Energy Company**BS 1981, MS 1985**
- Matthew McConaughey · Film, TV and writing · Academy Award-winning actor**BS 1993**
- Marcia Harden · Film, TV and writing · Academy Award-winning actor**BA 1980**
- Robert Rodriguez · Film, TV and writing · Filmmaker and founder of the El Rey Network**BS 2008**
- Paul Begala · Film, TV and writing · Political analyst at CNN**BA 1983, JD 1990**
- Arthel Neville · Film, TV and writing · Weekend anchor at Fox News Channel**BJ 1986**
- Robert Schenkkan · Film, TV and writing · Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning author**BA 1975**
- Elmer Kelton · Film, TV and writing · Author and agricultural journalist**BJ 1948**
- James Allison · Science · 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for a new way to attack cancer**BA 1969, PhD 1973**
- Michael W. Young · Science · 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for how living things keep their body clocks**BA 1971, PhD 1975**
- J.M. Coetzee · Science · 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature**PhD 1969**
- E. Donnall Thomas · Science · 1990 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine; the father of bone marrow transplantation**BA 1941, MA 1943**
- Stephanie Wilson · Science · NASA astronaut**MS 1992**
- Karen Nyberg · Science · NASA astronaut**MS 1996, PhD 1998**
- Earl Campbell · Sports · Heisman Trophy winner in 1977 and NFL running back**BS 1979**
- Ricky Williams · Sports · Retired NFL running back**BS 2016**
- Fran Harris · Sports · WNBA champion and broadcaster**BJ 1987, MA 1991, MSTC 2018Which famous people went to UT Austin? Abbott, McConaughey, Campbell and four Nobel winners.**

Greg Abbott, Matthew McConaughey, Earl Campbell and four Nobel winners are on the list. Texas Exes has given its Distinguished Alumnus Award since 1958, and it honors as many as six alumni a year. Every name above except Nobel winner E. Donnall Thomas comes from that award’s page.

[Texas Exes award winners](https://www.texasexes.org/about-us/awards/distinguished-alumnus-award-0)

**How many UT alumni have won a Nobel Prize? Four, in UT News’ 2019 count.**

UT News counted eight Nobel winners among UT professors and alumni in December 2019. Four were alumni and the rest were professors.

[UT News: Longhorn Laureates](https://news.utexas.edu/2019/12/09/longhorn-laureates/)

**Why isn’t a famous Longhorn on this list? We only list people an official UT page names as alumni.**

We list someone only if UT News or the Texas Exes names them as an alum. A person who attended without a degree, or whose official page we couldn’t find, isn’t here.

Texas Exes doesn’t post one list of famous alumni. For a name that isn’t on its award page, ask Texas Exes at texasexes.org.

**Where can I see more past winners? Texas Exes lists winners back to 2000.**

The award page has each year’s winners from 2000 on, with degree, year and job title. It also lists the 2026 winners.

[Past Distinguished Alumnus winners](https://www.texasexes.org/about-us/awards/distinguished-alumnus-award-0)

**Sources Texas Exes and UT News**

Checked November 12, 2026. Names, degrees and years come from the Texas Exes Distinguished Alumnus Award page and UT News. Jobs are the titles those pages gave when they honored each person.

- [Texas Exes: Distinguished Alumnus Award, recipients and past recipients](https://www.texasexes.org/about-us/awards/distinguished-alumnus-award-0)
- [UT News: Longhorn Laureates](https://news.utexas.edu/2019/12/09/longhorn-laureates/)
- [UT News: Congratulations to UT alumnus James Allison, 2018 Nobel Prize winner](https://news.utexas.edu/2018/10/02/congratulations-to-james-allison-2018-nobel-prize-winner/)

[UT traditions](https://utaustin.guide/ut/traditions)[UT rankings](https://utaustin.guide/ut/rankings)[UT clubs](https://utaustin.guide/ut/clubs)

By [Sulayman Bowles](https://sulayman-bowles.dev/about) · Checked Nov 12, 2026

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Source: https://utaustin.guide/ut/famous-alumni · Checked 2026-11-12 · Field Guide: UT Austin