Football | 4/7/2016 1:42:00 PM

ELLENSBURG, Wash (April. 7) – Central Washington University will induct football standout Jacob Galloway into the 2016 Athletics Hall of Fame. The ceremony will be held May 14^th in the SURC Ballroom beginning at 5:00 p.m. Tickets for the 2016 HOF Banquet can be purchased online at Wildcatsports.com/HOF.
 
Galloway finds himself entering the Hall of Fame as Central's all-time sack leader with 24 sacks. He holds the single-game record for tackles for loss with six. In 2004, he was named to the All-America team by three different sources and delivered as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year en route to the West Region Defensive Player of the Year.
 
Galloway earned both a bachelors and graduate degree in exercise science and competed in three separate sports while attending Central Washington. Recently married, Galloway works in Seattle, WA as a fitness director. Below is a Q&A with the half of fame defensive end.
 
CWU Athletics: Congratulations on being selected into the CWU Hall of Fame.  When you got the call from Dr. Francois telling you you had been selected, what was your reaction?  And how big of an honor is this?
 
Jacob Galloway: When I received that call I was very honored to have been accepted to the Hall of Fame, it was kind of surreal. I remember as an athlete in the old pavilion, it used to have all the old plaques. This big wall had all the old athlete's pictures and what they had accomplished. All those things they had done seemed unreachable, and when I think about my accomplishments being posted with them it's surreal and to think my story will be there for future athletes to see is truly an honor.

CA: When you left Shelton to come to Ellensburg, did you ever imagine having a hall of fame worthy career at CWU?

JG: When I left home I only played football for two years. I only knew of two positions, the center and the quarterback. I had to learn all the terminology, and plays like trips-open. So did I think I was going to have a half of fame career? No. Laughter
 
CA: In 2002 you were a part of a very talented team that went 11-0 in the regular season, eventually losing to UC Davis in the first round of the NCAA tournament two weeks after blowing them out…. You are the school record holder in sacks, tackles for loss in a single season, and yards from tackles for loss, named GNAC Defensive Player of the Year and West Region Defensive Player of the Year and was selected as an all-American, and are now being inducted into the Hall of Fame.  Would you trade in all the accolades for a rubber match with UC Davis in 2002?
 
JG: The hard part about winning is in the first game you do everything right, and the team that lost did everything wrong. Well, the losers go and fix those things and come back and win the second game. I think the lessons we learned from that loss helped carry that team and those players going forward. In think when it was all said and done, that team was the most winningest football team in the state of Washington during that decade and I think that UC Davis loss helped spark that run. So would I want a third shot at UC Davis? Yes. But, I wouldn't trade the accomplishments for it because those lessons we learned as a team helped set the future and the success we found going forward.
 
CA: What is the most memorable football moment at CWU?
 
JG: I have this picture on my fridge of probably my most memorable moment. It was in a game versus Western Washington University and the other defensive end sacked their quarterback and caused a fumble. I grabbed it and ran it for my only touchdown of my entire career. But this picture is of me, in the end zone with my arms in the air with the football and in the background are all the offensive lineman I had to run around to score the touchdown. The picture is all faded from the sun and it's not often a lineman scores a touchdown.
 
CA: What do you miss most about CWU? 
 
JG: School was fun. But the thing I definitely missed the most is the coaching staff. Especially my position coach Brian Stranley. I had him from my sophomore year on. If I were to look at any other coach and compare them, they don't even come close.  You could tell he did everything for the players and for the player's benefit. So the thing I miss the most would probably be the bonds you make with the coaches and players because we really were a family. I haven't been able to find that anywhere and it's a unique feeling.
 
CA: It had been 10 years since you played football at CWU, catch us up on the last ten years and where life has taken you.
 
JG: After football I stayed around for one more year to graduate. I then pursued a graduate degree in exercise science. After that I got a job at the Seattle Athletic Club and in 2009 I became their fitness director. That was in the heart of the recession and luckily the athletic club didn't have to do some of the things other companies were doing like layoffs, and when we came out of the recession we were doing record numbers in memberships and sales, so all that hard work I put in early in my career is really paying off now. I got married to my partner of five years, Evan Luckey, last month (March). Other than that, I play recreational volleyball and basketball, try to stay active. But, really, life hasn't changed.
 
 
CA: You tried your hand at basketball while at CWU, had you played four years of hoops, what would your stat sheet look like as a senior?
 
JG: I did football and track for five years, it took a lot of my time. So I was very honored when Greg Sparling asked me to play because they were short on posts. I couldn't practice because basketball practice is going on during the football season, so as soon as football ended I went and practiced a week with the team and then games started. I had to learn the whole offense and whole defense, it's a faster game in college than high school. But if I had done four years of basketball, then I think I would have been a lot better at all the skills that were required of me. They always called me the bruiser, and no one could move me in the paint. I think I can thank football for that.
 
 
CA: Who was the best football player you played with at CWU?
 
JG: I would say Brian Potucek. He was a true walk-on. They made it really hard on walk-on players in the winter. They wanted to weed out the guys who weren't mentally tough and he made it through all of that. In spring practice, they had to prove again that they wanted to make the team. Brian did that. He ended up being a huge asset right away. Going into my later years, he was just a clutch player. He had the quickest hips and feet. He'd do a little jab and everyone would just miss him. Besides his clutch play he was a good person to have on the team. He would pull a player back up when they got down.
 
 
CA: Looking back on your time at CWU, would you have done anything different? 
 
JG: Two things, and the first is track related. One the football field everyone talks crap. They try to get in your head. That didn't bother me. In basketball, at Western, shooting free throws with the crowd screaming, that didn't get to me either. But it was during track season, at nationals and I was competing in the discuss throw and it was the only time in my career I chocked, on my first throw. I went in ranked 15^th and finished 15^th and I know I could have been on the podium. Second, I was offered a chance to play in the senior bowl for football, but it was during the winter when basketball was going on so I turned it down. It was all expense paid, and had the chance for NFL scouts to see you play. If I could go back and do it again, I would have accepted that offer.
 
CA: What advice would you give to future CWU student-athletes?
 
JG: If you want to be great you have to put in the time. One thing looking back on all those things I did, I did two sports, worked two or three jobs and participated in all workouts. It takes a lot of time and effort to be great. You have to decide if you want it. There is always someone that will be better and work harder than you. So you have to work at being great. That holds true both athletically and academically.  I would also stress that you're a student first. You have to earn your degree, because when your college athletic career is over you want to get the job you want and not the job you need.