Miami University Notable Alumni

Mike Mizanin, popularly known as The Miz, is an American actor, media personality, and professional wrestler. Over the years, he has been an important wrestler for WWE. He has held several WWE championships, such as the Intercontinental Championship, United States Championship, and Tag Team Championship. As an actor, he is popular for playing Jake Carter in the Marine film series.

Known to his fans as the “Big Ben,” Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had captained his high-school basketball, baseball, and football teams. The multitalented 2004 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year stunned everyone when he became the youngest starting quarterback to score a Super Bowl victory in 2006.

Benjamin Harrison was the 23rd U.S. President and is remembered for his efforts to pass the McKinley Tariff and the Sherman Antitrust Act. A qualified lawyer, he was the great-grandson of Benjamin Harrison V. Known for strengthening the Navy, he also attempted to secure the voting rights of African–Americans.

Charles Michael Davis is an American actor, producer, director, and model. He is best known for playing Marcel Gerard in the popular fantasy supernatural drama TV series, The Originals. Apart from acting in the series, Davis was also credited with directing a couple of episodes of The Originals.

The 54th speaker of the US House of Representatives, Paul Ryan is no longer active in politics as he retired in 2018. Before his retirement, Ryan played a key role in bringing into effect the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. He also influenced a budget proposal called The Path to Prosperity and an agenda called A Better Way.

Miami University head football coach Bo Schembechler was once part of the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, known as the Ten-Year War. He was also dragged into a controversy when it was reported that in spite of several Michigan students claiming they were sexually abused by a university doctor, he downplayed the incidents.

Presidential Medal of Freedom-winning football player and coach Earl Blaik was the son of a blacksmith. He led the Army football teams to three consecutive national championships and was a strong supporter of two-platoon football. In 1951, almost his entire team was punished for breaking the honor code.

A physician by vocation, John Shaw Billings played an important role in eradicating yellow fever and served as the first director of New York Public Library. However, he is best remembered for developing the Surgeon General’s Office Library, not only expanding its volumes, but also redesigning catalogues with author and subject indexes, creating a separate indexing system for medical periodicals.