Steve Halligan was born on September 21, 1945, in Nebraska City, Nebraska. He is the son of Francis and Wilda Halligan. Steve has a sister Connie and a brother Ronnie. He was raised in Fort Dodge. He graduated from Fort Dodge High School in 1963. He lettered in baseball and track & field at Ft. Dodge High School. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a BA in Health and Physical Education in 1968. He earned a Master Degree in Health, Physical Education and Recreation from the University of South Dakota in 1972.
Steve began his teaching and coaching career in 1968 and taught and coached at West Sioux High School in Hawarden, Iowa for 35 years. His duties included coaching a variety of sports that included basketball, baseball, track & field, cross country and even a one-night of wrestling as a substitute coach. During this time he served as the head men’s basketball coach at Sioux Empire Junior College from 1972 to 1981, winning 204 games and coaching the North team in the North/South All-star game.
Steve success in Cross Country and Track and Field is outstanding. During his tenure at West Sioux High School, Steve had one of the best programs in Northwest Iowa. His track & field teams won over 100 invitational titles including one conference title. He had four individual state champions including his daughter Kathy and son Dennis. His real success came in Cross Country where his teams were perennial state participants climaxing in the 1999 Class 1-A Boys State Championship. His teams won five Class 1-A Boys District titles and two Class 1-A Girls Regional titles. Steve’s teams claimed seven boys and three girls’ conference titles.
He has had the pleasure of coaching all four of his children in state competitions. Kathy and Dennis were State Individual Cross Country Champions. Steve has won many honors during his career and here are a few. He was selected State Coach of the Year for Class 1-A in 1999 for Cross Country. Thirteen times he was selected regional cross country coach of the year.
He has been a clinic speaker at the IATC Distance Running Clinic. Steve was the High School Boy’s Referee of the Drake Relays in 2003. He was nominated for the National Cross Country Coach of the Year in 2003. Steve has contributed to both cross country and track in other ways than just coaching. He is still active as a meet official, working the Drake relays, and the State Cross Country Meet. He developed the archaic coding system of track & field markings that the IATO has made into a very efficient model. He has served a meet official for the Great Plains Athletic Conference Track & Field Meets. He was the voice of Northwest Iowa Teams for the rankings in the Sioux City Journal for Cross Country. He received the 25 year award from the IATC. He received a 34 years of Service award from the IATO.
Since his retirement Steve and his wife have moved to Sugar Land, Texas, where he is the General Manager and Voyager Director for the Houtonian Lite Health Club. He also is a charter member of the Board of Directors of Shape Up Sugar Land. Steve and his wife Julie have been married 41 years and have four children and six grandchildren. Their children are Christopher and his wife Jill who are both Chiropractors in Melrose Massachusetts and the parents of daughters Kelly and Chloe. Kathy, who is a teacher and coach in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Dennis and his wife Nancy live in Maple Grove, Minnesota and a re parents of sons Tyler and Zachary. Kenny and his wife Jill are educators in Sugar Land, Texas and are parents of son Katcher and daughter Adley.