NEWARK, DE -- University of Delaware senior swimmers Adam Mullan (top left) and Andrew Zinn (bottom right), senior volleyball player Colleen Walsh (top right), and senior track and field competitor Colleen O’Brien (bottom left) have been selected officers for the UD Student-Athlete Advisory Council for the 2007-08 season.

Mullan, a senior biology major from Wilmington, DE (Brandywine High School), was elected president; Walsh, an economics and finance major from Cleveland, OH (Regina HS), was selected vice-president for the second straight year; O’Brien, a business major from Lebanon, NJ (North Hunterdon HS), was elected secretary; and Zinn, a senior marketing major from Wilmington, DE (McKean HS), was elected treasurer.

As president, Mullan’s 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.

Among the accomplishments of SAAC during the 2006-07 academic year were the following:

• Raising over $7,500 for Special Olympics Delaware in the 1st Annual Pigskin Pass

• Raising $1,200 for charity through the sale of t-shirts

• 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 at local schools.

• Hosting UD’s annual Student Athlete Day at the Delaware Field House in April in which student athletes took part in games, were awarded prizes, and listened to live music

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

The SAAC goals for the 2007-2008 academic year are:
• Increase participation in the Pigskin Pass to increase the amount of money raised for Special Olympics Delaware

• Increase attendance and participation at Student-Athlete Day.

• Raise money to create a memorial for those lost in the Virginia Tech shooting

• Compile a database with phone numbers and addresses of athletic alumni.

• Increase participation in SAAC events.

• Host a speaker for all student-athletes (possibly in the area of sports psychology)