By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Allison Monson wasn’t going to miss this opportunity.
When the University of Nebraska at Kearney graduate learned the NCAA Division II Central Regional volleyball tournament was coming to the Health and Sports Center, she wanted to be there.
So, the UNK Athletic Hall of Famer and former Loper basketball standout quickly volunteered to serve as the NCAA site representative, a neutral championship administrator who ensures the tournament runs at a national-caliber level.
“When I knew it was going to be in Kearney, I kind of pushed a little harder,” Monson said with a smile. “It’s a great opportunity for me to get more experience within the NCAA and also come back here to my alma mater.”
Second-ranked UNK is hosting the Central Regional for the eighth time in program history. Featuring five of the top seven teams in Division II and seven squads ranked inside the top 25, the tournament started Thursday and concludes Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Among the Division II attendance leaders each year, UNK expects a loud, energized arena throughout the event.
“The crew here has done a great job of setting everything up and making it feel like a championship environment,” said Monson, a member of the NCAA Regional Advisory Committee. “It’s a very intimate setup for volleyball. It feels like the crowd is right on top of you, and that’s the kind of atmosphere you want to provide these student-athletes. They’re playing games to win a national championship. It’s win-or-go-home time.”
“Let’s see how many people can pack this place,” she added.
Legendary Loper Career
Monson has been back to Kearney “seven or eight times” since graduating, and each return brings the same familiar feeling.
“This place is really special to me – back then and even today,” she said. “It still feels like home, but it’s also exciting to see all the new things happening on campus and in the community. It brings back some really good memories.”
Originally from tiny Paullina, Iowa – “no stoplights, less than 1,000 people,” she noted – Monson first came to Kearney as a summer AAU player competing in the Miss Basketball Tournament. Former Loper head coach Amy Stephens spotted her and started the recruiting process. After a campus visit, Monson knew instantly.
“I absolutely fell in love with the place,” she said. “It ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made.”
Once she arrived, Monson helped shape one of the most successful eras in UNK women’s basketball history. A two-time All-American and two-time RMAC Player of the Year, she battled through injuries to become one of the program’s all-time greats.
Between 1999 and 2004, she scored 1,682 points – still third most in program history – while ranking among the career leaders in rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and free throws made. She played on five NCAA Tournament teams, won four RMAC regular-season championships and helped extend UNK’s famed home winning streak to 87 games – a Division II record at the time.
“We won a lot of games. We had a lot of support. It was one of the best times of my life, and a pivotal point for me to shape who I am and where I went with my career,” she said. “The coaches, my teammates – we all stay in touch.”
Even an injury her junior year ended up guiding her future career.
“Being on the sideline and watching really ignited that passion to get into coaching at the college level,” she said.
Monson earned her bachelor’s degree in education, then began a coaching career that took her to Wayne State College, the University of South Dakota and eventually Southwest Minnesota State University, where she served as the head women’s basketball coach from 2010 to 2016.
New Calling in College Athletics
Monson envisioned the SMSU job as a steppingstone in her coaching career. Instead, it changed her life in a different way. Her teams struggled, and she found herself reevaluating her goals and path.
“I didn’t have a great head coaching record,” she said bluntly. “It was a difficult time. It was something I had never experienced before. And it taught me a lot. They say the hardest times you go through teach you the most, and that is exactly what happened for me.”
Although things didn’t go her way on the court, Monson loved the university and Marshall, Minnesota, community, so she wanted to stay. When a compliance position opened in the athletic department, she seized the chance to try something new.
“And I absolutely love administration,” she said.
Now in her 10th year as an SMSU administrator, Monson serves as an associate athletic director, compliance officer, director of student-athlete academic affairs and senior woman administrator. She supports roughly 400 student-athletes and serves as a key resource for coaches and staff.
“I love working with college-age students,” she said. “They’re at a pivotal point in their life when they’re trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do. It’s a big transition time, and I love being there to help our student-athletes grow and figure things out.”
“My job is being around collegiate athletics,” added Monson, who holds a master’s degree in sport management from Wayne State. “That’s pretty incredible. I get up and go to work every day and I love it.”
Family played a major part in the transition, too. Her husband Scott is a school superintendent, and the couple have two young daughters, ages 7 and 3.
“I wanted a better lifestyle for having a family,” she explained. “What do I want with my life and what do I want with my career? Administration was the answer.”
Division II Mindset
Monson’s role may have changed from player to coach to administrator, but her appreciation for the DII philosophy remains the same.
“The focus is definitely the student-athletes and helping them get their degree and preparing them for life,” she said. “That’s why I love it. Division II is the place for me.”
That belief aligns with the work she’s doing this week at UNK – ensuring a championship environment that honors both the competition and the student-athlete experience.
Even though she can’t cheer for a specific team as the NCAA site representative, she’s thrilled to be part of the action.
“It might be a lot less stressful – a lot easier on my blood pressure and my heart rate,” she joked.
“This is the toughest region in the nation. I get to watch some of the best teams in the tournament. What an incredible experience.”
