Hall of Fame Certain: Pat Gallagher’s Lasting Affect

Women’s Swimming | 6/30/2026 5:00:00 PM

 
LORETTO, Pa. — So typically in sports activities there’s a demand for immediate gratification. Add a brand new coach or a prime recruit and there may be the expectation to “win now.”

“To win a championship at a place like Saint Francis everyone has to be invested and that was my experience there.”

Before arriving on campus in 2003, Pat Gallagher shouldn’t be sure he ever heard of Saint Francis University, however is aware of he could not discover Loretto on a map.

The younger, first-time swimming head coach by no means supposed to remain lengthy. But that transient profession cease grew to become house. Over the subsequent decade he raised 4 championship banners, formed the lives of numerous student-athletes, and constructed a legacy that now earns him a spot within the Saint Francis University Athletic Hall of Fame.

“I was really surprised when I got the call,” Gallagher stated. “I had recently been texting Jim Brazill (Saint Francis Director of Athletics) and told him we need to get some of my swimmers into the Hall of Fame. I’m excited that Elise (Lofgren) is getting in, too.”

Elise Lofgren, who plans to reunite along with her coach on the Hall of Fame ceremonies in July,  was a key a part of three championship groups.

“Pat is a very approachable and supportive coach. He made an effort to build a genuine connection with us,” Lofgren stated.  “He had a strong teacher side and was always willing to explain his thinking, while also being open to feedback.”

 

Gallagher studied schooling whereas swimming for La Salle University.

 

“I always knew I’d coach at the club or high school level.  After a couple of years of teaching I realized I wasn’t quite ready to be in the classroom, so I spent the summer applying to coaching jobs. I was so naïve — I wasn’t getting any calls back.”

He finally landed an assistant teaching place at Cornell after the college created a brand new function. His first day on the job was Sept. 11, 2001.

“I remember walking into practice that afternoon and seeing one person in the pool,” Gallagher stated. “Her sister worked in lower Manhattan, and she hadn’t heard from her.”

Gallagher additionally recalled the irony that he had not too long ago taught a highschool lesson about Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

He spent two seasons with the Big Red, serving as recruiting coordinator whereas helping in all features of this system. Feeling prepared to steer a workforce of his personal, Gallagher accepted the chance at Saint Francis.

“I don’t remember the exact number, but I might have had three kids returning that season,” Gallagher stated. “I was so excited. Here I’m talking about my plans to rebuild the program and I’m being told I need to find more kids if I want to be eligible to compete.”

That first season, Saint Francis received two meets and completed in 11^th place within the convention championships.

“We had to be creative,” Gallagher stated with amusing. “I remember convincing one of our freshmen to get her roommate, who was a cross country runner to join the team. I was teaching her how to dive before our first meet.”

It did not take lengthy for Gallagher to seek out swimmers who made a direct impression.  They included such recruits as Megan Collins, Alicia Ford, and Hanna Yttring who transferred from Hawaii. Yttring, a local of Sweden, helped appeal to different worldwide expertise.

Gallagher additionally credit the arrival of Bob Krimmel, who grew to become director of athletics in 2005.

“Bob came in with a genuine commitment to women’s athletics,” Gallagher stated. “Take a look at the women going into this Hall of Fame class. He had a big role in their success.”

In 2010, Saint Francis rewrote the file books capturing its first of 4 straight NEC Swimming and Diving Championships.  The feat is much more spectacular when you think about Gallagher didn’t have a dive workforce.

“Looking back on it we just had a group that really bought in. Not just to swimming, but academics too.”

Since studying of his Hall of Fame induction, Gallagher stated he and his spouse, Megan, have frolicked reminiscing about their years in Loretto.

One reminiscence nonetheless makes him chortle.

The morning after successful an NEC championship in Boston, Gallagher and his spouse had been consuming breakfast when workforce captains Jess Dunn and Chloe Pierre approached with an issue.

“They had these serious looks on their faces, so I asked, ‘What’s wrong?'” Gallagher recalled. “They said, ‘The bus leaves at 10, but Mass won’t be over until 10:30. Can we push back the departure time?'”

It was a second that completely mirrored the tradition his groups had constructed.

After successful his fourth consecutive NEC championship in 2013, Gallagher made the tough determination to go away Saint Francis. He and Megan had been anticipating their first baby, and returning to Cornell provided the perfect alternative for his or her rising household. He rejoined Cornell earlier than finally turning into this system’s head coach, a place he nonetheless holds at present.