Memphis University School (MUS) is a day school for boys grades 6–12, located in Memphis, Tennessee, United States.
The school has adopted red and blue as its official colors to represent the academics standards of two universities, Harvard and Yale. In the 1970s, the school added the Hull Lower School, the Hyde Library, the Fisher Fine Arts Wing, and the McCaughan Science building. The Sue H. Hyde Sports and Physical Education Center was added in 1990.
Bob Loeb became chairman of the board in 2008, followed by Sam Graham in 2013, and Jim Burnett in 2020.
Ellis Haguewood retired in June 2017 after 48 years at the school, including 22 as headmaster. The board of trustees selected Pete Sanders from Greenville, South Carolina, as the new headmaster.
In February 2021 the school announced a new strategic plan, Legacy Forward, with six strategic goals guided by 12 implementation champions representing the board and the school. In December 2023 the school opened admissions to include an inaugural Grade 6. 100 million - one of the largest independent day school endowments in the region.
MUS maintains 22 endowed scholarships, 11 endowed teaching chairs, and 27 special endowed funds.
Academics MUS enrolls about 610 students in grades 6 through 12. The student–faculty ratio is 7 to 1, and average class size is 15 students.
The school's intensive academic program emphasizes Advanced Placement and Honors Accelerated courses, offering over 20 AP courses for college credit. Historically, more than 90 percent of MUS students score a 3 or above on their AP exams. MUS grades are weighted on a 4.0 scale. Every year a large portion of MUS students are honored by College Board for their performance on standardized tests. MUS claims a 100% four-year college acceptance rate.
Faculty
For the 2026–27 school year, the faculty included 90 instructors, three college counselors, two guidance counselors, and a school nurse. Seventy-one percent of faculty hold master's degrees or doctorates. Average teaching experience for faculty was 25 years.
Notable alumni Nash Buckingham, 1898, author and conservationist Richard Halliburton, 1915, travel writer, adventurer Allen B. Morgan Jr. 1960, co-founder, CEO, and chairman of Morgan Keegan & Company J. R. Hyde III 1961, founder of AutoZone Frederick W. Smith 1962, founder, CEO of FedEx John Fry 1962, founder of Ardent Studios Admiral Charles H. Johnston 1966, United States Navy Michael Beck 1967, actor Michael O'Brien 1968, photographer Chris Bell 1969, musician, member of Big Star Andy Hummel 1969, musician, member of Big Star Paul Tudor Jones 1972, hedge fund manager Hampton Sides 1980, author, Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder Edward Felsenthal 1984, journalist, editor-in-chief, Time Magazine John H. Dobbs 1985, businessman Griff Jenkins 1989, radio producer and Fox News television personality David O. Sacks 1990, founder and CEO of Web 2.0 company Geni, Inc.; former COO of PayPal; movie producer: ex. Thank You for Smoking Tom Hutton 1991, former University of Tennessee and NFL punter Siddharth Kara 1992, writer, expert on human trafficking Henry Gayden 1998, screenwriter, known for his writing in Earth to Echo (2014), Shazam! (2019) and There's Someone Inside Your House (2020) Hank Sullivant 2001, rock musician, frontman for Kuroma, past bassist for The Whigs, touring guitarist for MGMT Harry Ford, actor, star of CBS TV series Code Black Harrison Williams 2014, Olympic decathlete at Paris 2024 Summer Olympics (finished 7th) Denver Jones 2020, basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
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