Michigan State University Notable Alumni

I wonder if Animal ever looked like this while coaching his high school football team?

Go Green! Go White! It's MAMU week, so I thought I'd give you a list of 10 University of Michigan alumni. As with Indiana, you can't be here without graduating from Michigan State University. So James Caan ( The Godfather and Tragic Let's talk about a celebrity (Magic Johnson) in this fan post.

1. William James Myers – Class of 1959. Myers played football at Michigan State University and then went on to a record-setting career as a high school football coach at Madison High School in Madison Heights, Mich. In his free time, Myers started a side hustle and eventually got so good at it that he quit his day job to become WWE Hall of Famer (Class of 1995) George the Animal Steele.

2. James P. Hoffa – Class of 1963. After graduating from Michigan State University, Hoffa followed in his father's footsteps as leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Luckily for him, he didn't follow in his father's footsteps and disappear off the face of the earth.

3. Jemele Hill – Class of 1997. Sportscaster and political commentator/aspiring activist Jemele Hill is a Spartan alumna. Her colorful career includes 11 years at ESPN, part of which was as a co-host on the notoriously terrible show. sports Center Rebranding SC6.

Jemele Hill is having fun in the not-so-fun SC6

4. Dan Gilbert – Class of 1984. Like fellow Indiana University graduate Mark Cuban, Gilbert used his business success with Rocket Mortgage to buy the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers and put his company's name on their arena. But Gilbert isn't known for taunting officials like Cuban did. He must have learned his cool from watching Judd Heathcote on the sidelines at Jenison Fieldhouse.

5. Paul Stokey – Class of 1959. Sit down and sing the first few bars. Puff the Magic Dragon or Blowing in the Wind (If you can't get one or both of these songs out of your head, you're welcome!) “Paul” of the '60s folk singing group Peter, Paul & Mary is a MAMU alumnus.

6. Gretchen Whitmer – Class of 1993 (Bachelor's degree), Class of 1998 (J.D.). Michigan Governor and 2028 presidential candidate Gretchen Whitmer loved MAMU so much that she earned two degrees from the school.

7. Frank Kush – Class of 1953. Kush was a small defensive lineman at 5'7″ and 160 pounds who was a member of Michigan State's undefeated 1952 national championship team. He later compiled a record of 176 wins, 54 losses and one tie as head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils football team, including two undefeated seasons in 1970 and 1975. But Kush gained notoriety and was given a one-way ticket out of Scottsdale due to allegations of physical and mental abuse and NCAA violations (leading to the Sun Devils being placed on probation in 1980). And let's not even mention his 11 wins, 28 losses and one tie record as head coach of the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts.

Frank Kush, Head Coach, Arizona State University

8. Kwame Kilpatrick – Class of 1999 (J.D.). Kwame Kilpatrick worked his way up to Detroit City Hall, where he was elected Mayor in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. Kilpatrick was convicted of obstruction of justice (two counts), assaulting a police officer, extortion, tax evasion, racketeering, and mail fraud, and served time in prison. It's great that Kilpatrick is pretty fond of Donald Trump, who pardoned Kilpatrick (with 20 years left on Kwame's sentence) when he left the White House.

9. Ernest Green – Class of 1962 (Bachelor's degree), Class of 1964 (Master's degree). Greene's story of how he ended up in East Lansing is quite interesting, since he was a member of the Little Rock Nine that desegregated Little Rock Central High School. (Fellow Little Rock Nine member Carlotta Walls Lanier attended Michigan State University for two years before moving to Colorado.) Greene's tuition at Michigan State was paid for by a then-anonymous donor who was later identified as Michigan State University President John A. Hanna. And speaking of presidents, in 1999, Greene, along with the other members of the Little Rock Nine, received the Congressional Gold Medal from President Bill Clinton.

Ernest Green was the first of the Little Rock Nine to graduate from Little Rock Central High School.

10. Charles Aaron “Bubba” Smith – Class of 1967. Bubba Smith attended Michigan State University due to racial discrimination in his home state of Texas. The two-time All-American defensive lineman's collegiate career included playing in the infamous 10-on-10 “Game of the Century” against Notre Dame in 1966. Smith won a Super Bowl ring with the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V and also played in the infamous Super Bowl “Upset of the Century” in which the Colts were heavy favorites to win the championship but lost to the AFL's New York Jets. Following his playing days, Bubba has pursued acting, including showing off a new and improved way to open Miller Lite cans.

Who do you pick as a MAMU alumni to watch?