[2] As a junior, Halligan was moved to the left tackle position and was one of the stars of Jumbo Stiehm's 1913 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team that won the Missouri Valley Conference championship and defeated the University of Minnesota to cap an undefeated 8–0 season.

As a senior, Halligan again played at the left tackle position and led the 1914 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team to its second consecutive undefeated season with a record of 7–0–1.

[12] The University of Nebraska yearbook for the Class of 1915 noted Halligan's contributions to the football team: "The premier punter of the West, A master of the forward pass, A tackler equal to the best.

The Milwaukee Journal in December 1915 wrote:"This season, ... Camp picked Halligan of Nebraska for a tackle position on his third team.

Pretty good joke on Walter, eh, picking a coach as one of the star players of the country?

[1] Halligan was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and served as the local organization's exalted ruler.

[16] In his later years, he donated land on the north side of Interstate 80 east of Highway 83 that was used in the formation of Mid-Plains Community College.