UNI Celebrates Black History Month: Allison Galvin Thompson
2/14/2020
Allison Galvin Thompson thought she was athletic enough to play college athletics out of Cedar Rapids Jefferson, but the question was which sport. She had overtures from DII and NAIA schools in basketball and track and field, but the only softball offers she received were from junior colleges and a single offer from Wayne State in Nebraska.
There was one other coach that had her on the radar, the new skipper at UNI, Ryan Jacobs, knew what she could do. As the head coach at Cedar Falls High, he had watched her as an opposing coach for three seasons.
“The biggest factor was that I was able to see her up close,” Jacobs said. “We played Cedar Rapids Jefferson a lot. I knew she was athletic, she could have run track in college or played basketball or softball. I also knew that playing for a coach like Larry Niemeyer, she knew how to win. With our fundamental development, we knew that she would get better and she ended up being one of the best centerfielders that we’ve ever had.”
"It was a great opportunity to be part of building a winning program at UNI. We embraced the underdog role at UNI. We were thought of as the underdog, but we had great players across the board.”Allison Galvin Thompson
Allison came to UNI as a member of Jacobs first recruiting class and was excited about the opportunity to establish a new culture and build something special from the ground up.
“It was a pretty big recruit class, I think there were eight or nine of us,” Thompson said. “We had a great relationship and are all still really close. It was a great opportunity to be part of building a winning program at UNI. We embraced the underdog role at UNI. We were thought of as the underdog, but we had great players across the board.”
She was a three-year starter for the Panthers and started every game her senior year which saw UNI go 21-4 in Missouri Valley Conference play and pick up the first regular-season title in school history.
She was a leader on the team. A member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and a two-year captain.
“People are drawn to her,” Jacobs said. “She came here and was pretty quiet, but she blossomed into a leader. Her work ethic was tremendous. She led by example. It was great having a leader on our team that wasn't afraid to put in the work.”
After graduation, softball wasn’t over for her, but she turned her attention to coaching. She spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Kirkwood Community College in her hometown, before applying to be a graduate assistant under coach Jamie Pinkerton in the inaugural softball season at the University of Montana.
Before she was hired, Jacobs had the chance to talk with Pinkerton about Thompson and how she could help build a program at Montana.
“I told him that I thought she would bring a lot to the table,” Jacobs said. “She would bring some new stuff, some different stuff and she was going to be very loyal. That is a big key to having someone on your staff. I knew she would be a loyal hard worker and I knew she would develop under him. She proved that. He loved her and I think he wished he could have kept her on staff longer.”
She moved to Montana to help start a program in its first season that included 15 freshmen on the roster and a home field at a high school 25 minutes from campus, but she embraced the opportunity.
“I felt connected to that first recruitment class because that is really similar to my experience as a player,” Thompson said. “I think out of our nine starters, seven were freshmen. It was a great experience to help set the legacy of the program.”
The Grizzlies finished 16-34 in year one of the program (2015) and in year two went 29-27 and 14-7 in Big Sky play to earn a spot in the Big Sky Conference Tournament. They also had six All-Conference honorees, including three first-teamers.
“The freshmen were sophomores in year two and they just took over,” Thompson said. “To go from creation to a winning record and make the conference tournament in two years is pretty impressive.”
Montana would go on to win the Big Sky Championship the next season and Pinkerton would be hired away by Iowa State, but that 2016 season would be the last as a coach for Thompson. She looks back at her time in Montana as formative years.
“That two years in Missoula was an important time for me,” Thompson said. “I was able to get out of the Midwest and experience a new part of the country. Softball opened up huge doors for me. I was able to get my master’s degree and travel all over the country. I have a better understanding of people all over the country. I also met my husband in Montana.”
She moved to Omaha, her husband’s hometown, where she took a job in academic advising for the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
“I knew that coaching softball wouldn’t be my long term profession,” Thompson said. “The travel and the lifestyle are tough, but I wanted to be in a place where I was helping, teaching and coaching and this just feels like a natural fit for me.”
“I thought that she would stay in college coaching, but life took her in a different direction. I still think that she is going to help a lot of young people develop and get better in her current position.”Head Coach Ryan Jacobs
She brings the lessons that she learned on the diamond to work with her every day and in her opinion, it has made her better at everything she does.
“It was ingrained in me from very early on that I need to work hard in everything I do,” Thompson said. “When I look back at everything I’ve accomplished whether it be in athletics or now in my professional career, it all comes back to that work ethic. Hard work and persistence have always been my mindset.”
She has worked hard to accomplish everything she has built in her own life but realizes that she still would not be where she is without the opportunity she had to play softball at UNI.
“I look at everything I have now and I owe so much to UNI and to softball,” she said. “I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to earn a master’s degree and meet my husband. I have been able to build a career because of everything I have learned. I never realized how much I have in my life because of my time as an athlete.”
