- Five of ECU's alumni were elected to the position of Governor.
- Oklahoma Governor Robert S. Kerr
- Oklahoma Governor George Nigh
- Arizona Governor Ernest McFarland
- Chickasaw Nation Governor Bill Anoatubby
- Chickasaw Nation Lt. Governor Jefferson Keel
- Robert S. Kerr was elected U.S. Senator from Oklahoma in 1948 and ran for U.S. President in 1952.
- ECU alumnus Lyle Boren served in the U.S. House of Representatives.
- ECU's Collegiate Officer Program was the first one implemented in the state. It is a collaborative arrangement between the State of Oklahoma Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training (CLEET) and ECU that allows students to fulfill State of Oklahoma police officer certification requirements while completing their bachelor's degrees.
- East Central University is the only public institution in the state of Oklahoma that offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Legal Studies.
- What ECU alum won more than 30 PGA Tour events? Dr. Gil Morgan has totaled more than $20 million in career earnings.
- Our School of Nursing rates high in the state with ECU students passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) by over 95% in the last five years.
- What ECU All-American linebacker was a part of the 1986 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears with NFL Hall of Fame running back Walter Payton? Clifford Thrift.
- There are more than 70 student organizations on campus including student government, departmental clubs, honor societies, religious organizations, and special interest groups - plus national fraternities and sororities.
- School of Business alum Kevin Turner was the youngest at age 32 to become a vice president for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. in 1995, then CFO of Sam's Club, and in 2005 became COO of Microsoft Corporation.
- ECU is one of the few schools in the country that offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Cartography.
- ECU is in the Great American Conference with varsity sports offered in:
- Baseball (men)
- Basketball (men & women)
- Cross Country (men & women)
- Football (men)
- Soccer (women)
- Softball (women)
- Track (men & women)
- Volleyball (women)
- ECU has a diverse student body with more than 30 countries and 25 states helping make up the University's 3,600 students.
- ECU is the only institution in Oklahoma (and one of few nationally) that offers an accredited Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Health Science.
- The ECU McNair Scholars Program, a U.S. Department of Education funded grant program, honors the memory of Dr. Ronald E. McNair, an astronaut who lost his life in the Challenger Shuttle accident on Jan. 28, 1986. The McNair program prepares low-income, first generation, and minority undergraduate students for doctoral study.
- Coach Brad Calip was inducted into the National College Football Hall of Fame in 2003. He was an All-American quarterback at ECU. Calip played arena football and was on the world champion team. He has also played in the Canadian Football League. Coach Calip is a 2003 Vision of Excellence Award winner for team teaching in Jenks Schools. He has six state titles in his 17 years of coaching.
- ECU is one of only a few universities in the country that offers a bachelor's degree in Medical Physics.
- Leon Polk Smith, one of the fathers of formalistic painting in America, was a graduate of ECU.
- Harland Stonecipher, founder of Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc., a legal service plan company, was a graduate of ECU.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System's (IPEDS) current rankings list ECU second in the country in the amount of government grants received by public institutions with an average of 3,000 to 4,000 undergraduates and 100 to 1,000 graduate students. This data does not include institutions which are considered health, medical, or engineering schools or are historically black colleges. However, this data is based on 2006 figures and ECU has increased its grants production by $5 million just over the last year.