University Of Oregon Notable Alumni

Chael Sonnen is a retired mixed martial artist. He is also a submission grappling promoter and mixed martial arts (MMA) analyst. He began his mixed martial arts career in 1997 and soon became a top contender in both the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He has also made a few film appearances. 

Kaitlin Olson is an actress and comedian. She started her career with the improvisational group The Groundlings and went on to become one of the most popular members of the group. She then established herself in the American TV industry, landing critical roles in series like Flipped. After marrying Rob McElhenney, Olson bought Skinner's Bar, which was renamed Mac's Tavern.

Marcus Mariota is an American football player. A quarterback, Mariota was an important member of Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL) as he led the Titans to three successive winning seasons. He currently plays for the Las Vegas Raiders. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mariota serves as an inspiration to many aspiring football players from Hawaii.

Freelance journalist and author Chuck Palahniuk specializes in what he calls transgressional fiction. His popular novel Fight Club was adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt and also won awards such as the Oregon Book Award for Best Novel. Though critics call his books nihilistic, he himself calls them romantic.

Long-distance runner Steve Prefontaine had competed in only one Olympic, finishing fourth in the 5000m race in Munich. However, he had begun breaking records since high school and excelled in cross-country running. His tragic death in a car accident after attending a party ended his life and his sports dreams.

Born to a Japanese mother and an American father, journalist Ann Curry is best known for her extensive war reporting and has covered disturbances from areas such as Syria and Afghanistan. The Emmy Award-winning journalist has had a long stint on NBC. She also supports cancer research.

Two-time Olympic decathlon champion Ashton Eaton began his international career in 2008, winning his first international medal, a silver, at the 2011 World Championships. In the following year, he won two gold medals, one in Heptathlon at the World Indoor Championships and the other in Decathlon in London Olympic Games, defending his Olympic title four years later in Rio de Janeiro.

Alberto Salazar is an American former long-distance runner who won the silver medal at the 1982 IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Rome, Italy. After his retirement from the sport, Salazar served as the head coach for the Nike Oregon Project and received the 2013 IAAF Coaching Achievement Award in Monaco. He was later banned for doping and sexual offenses.

Patrick Chung is a Jamaican-American retired professional football player best known for his association with the New England Patriots. He played in the NFL for 12 seasons, during which he won three Super Bowls for New England. Patrick Chung also played for the Philadelphia Eagles for a season during his 12-year career.

While he had been a promising soccer player in school, Galen Rupp later discovered track and field and became one of the best long-distance runners of the U.S. He is a three-time Olympian and has two Olympic medals, a silver and a bronze, in his kitty.