NEWARK, DE -- Tyler Kupper, who will be a senior member of the University of Delaware golf team this fall, has been named president of the University of Delaware Student-Athlete Advisory Council for 2006-07 as part of the group’s annual elections.

Kupper (at right), a native of Weston, CT (Weston High School), is a sport management major at Delaware with a minor in business management. As president, his role is to direct SAAC, which is a group of Delaware student-athletes whose mission is to provide communication between the UD athletics administration, student services for athletes, and sports medicine with the student-athlete population and to encourage spirit, academic achievement, and community service by student-athletes.

In addition to Kupper, sophomore volleyball player Colleen Walsh (Regina/Cleveland, OH) was selected vice president, junior rower Betsy Seeger (Archbishop Spaulding/Millersville, MD) was chosen as secretary, and sophomore men’s swimmer Adam Mullan (Brandywine/Wilmington, DE) was selected as an alternate.

Among the accomplishments of SAAC during the 2005-06 academic year were the following:

• A focus on integration of the Greek and Athletic communities through the hosting of speaker Mark Sterner and two panels on college life at Newark High School

• Selling of Student-Athlete t-shirts, which raised $1,500 for a family displaced after Hurricane Katrina

• Sending 200 pounds of clothing to Tulane University in New Orleans

• Drafting changes to drug testing policy, which are being considered by the Athletic Governing Board, to extend the frequency of drug testing and increasing penalties for violations

• Submitting a proposal to change training room hours

• Hosting two appreciation dinners- one for coaches of the UD varsity athletic teams and the other for guests selected by the SAAC

• Sponsoring numerous community service activities, including preparation of two meals at the Ronald McDonald House in Wilmington, DE, participation in Reading Is Fundamental activities at a local elementary school, sponsoring a Relay for Life team, taking part in the Box Tops for Education program, and giving leadership talks in local schools.

• Hosted UD’s annual Student Athlete Day at Rullo Stadium in April in which student athletes took part in games, were awarded prizes, and listed to music