RMAC Hall of Fame Page | Ike Armstrong | Jack Hancock | Luc Cisna
This is the fourth profile of seven individuals being inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame on Friday, July 8 at the Colorado Springs Marriott Hotel. The 1982 and 1983 CMU Football teams are also being inducted. Tickets for the Hall of Fame and Awards Banquet can be purchased by clicking here.
In an article written by her alma mater featuring former University of Nebraska Kearney student-athletes, Jill (McCaslin) Timmons states that she was ecstatic when she heard that she would be inducted into the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in July. "I never really saw this coming," she told UNK.
"It's just a real honor to think that the conference would select me in that way. I'm very appreciative."
A North Platte, Nebraska native, Timmons played for the Lopers from 1994-97. Coach Dan Simmons first noticed her athleticism when he would run softball camps in her hometown. She had played catcher in high school, but her speed gave her a unique ability to steal bases, which Simmons was really impressed with. Quickly understanding her physical gifts and potential, Simmons made a mental note he may cross Timmons’ path again when it came time to recruit her.
Even when up against top tier division one schools, Timmons brought her A-game.
Simmons recalls one time when they were playing Kansas, a high-quality NCAA Division I squad. In the fourth inning, Timmons squared a pitch up, knocking it out of the park for a home run. With the home run looming large in their minds, the Kansas coaching staff decided to walk Timmons the rest of the game.
“That was the respect that she received as a player,” Simmons states. “If we were at a national tournament, competition or whatever, we could count on her and top-level coaches feared her.”
During her sophomore year in 1995, Timmons was named the RMAC Co-Player of the Year alongside teammate and pitcher Cindy Cohn. The pair led the Lopers to the RMAC regular season and tournament championships while also accumulating a 30-5 record.
During her last two years, Jill even had the opportunity to play along side her younger sister Tina.
Entering the 2016 season, Timmons was still the Lopers’ career leader in batting average (.401), doubles (49) and stolen bases (112). During her 1996 season, she set single-season records for hits (83), runs scored (66), doubles (21) and stolen bases (44). She was a part of three NCAA Tournament teams, including two that reached the Elite 8. Timmons was also a member of the three teams that won both RMAC Regular-Season and RMAC Tournament titles. She was named 1996 CoSIDA Academic All-American and Academic All-District. Timmons ended her career as the Lopers’ only three-time All-American and in 2009 she was inducted into the UNK Athletic Hall of Fame.
Timmons earned her education specialist degree from UNK in school psychology and spent seven years as a school psychologist. Her work continues to impress Coach Simmons.
“Also in measuring success you look at what she has done with her life since college,” Simmons says. “The advanced education degree and her working with young people now, I’m just really proud of what she has done.”
Timmons is currently the special education supervisor for Lincoln Public schools while still in the process of finishing up her doctoral work.