|
April 18, 2001
H.
Elliott Rogers, Jr., C'72, WG'75 has donated $1 million to the
University of Pennsylvania Athletic Department to endow the
Penn men's track and field coaching position in honor of his
late coach, James "Tupp" Tuppeny.
"There is no better way to
ensure the future vitality of an intercollegiate team than by
an endowment gift," noted Steve Bilsky, University of
Pennsylvania Director of Athletics. "Through his
generosity, Elliott Rogers has not only benefited scores of
Penn student-athletes, but has simultaneously memorialized his
coach and mentor Jim Tuppeny."
Rogers, the managing director
of the Palo Alto-based Credit Suisse First Boston Technology
Group, noted that, "Tupp was a great coach and a
wonderful person. It is a pleasure to be able to do something
that enhances the Penn track and cross country programs in his
name." Tuppeny spent 13 years as the head coach of men's
track and field and cross country at the University of
Pennsylvania. In 1966, Tuppeny was offered the head coaching
position and within three years, Penn won its first Ivy League
team title. During Coach Tuppeny's tenure, the Quakers won a
total of 17 team titles.
In 1970, Tuppeny began serving
in his most widely-known position - Director of the Penn
Relays. Under his guidance, Penn's "track and field
carnival," already a mainstay of the outdoor track season
in America, became the robust and well-run event that it
remains today. Tuppeny added many innovations to the schedule
of events like the marathon, decathlon, heptathlon and the
Thursday night distance program which attracted world-class
athletes, looking to kick off their outdoor seasons. In 1978,
he made his most famous decision when he created an entire day
devoted to women's events.
Tuppeny
retired from his Penn coaching position in 1979, but kept the
title of Relays Director until 1987, when he retired from the
post. Many other positions in the Philadelphia-area sports
world kept Tuppeny busy for the next 13 years, until he passed
away on November 29, 2000. Tuppeny was 75.
Rogers
was a student of Tuppeny's track and field expertise for four
years at Penn. A three-year letter winner in cross country and
track in 1969-70, 1970-71 and 1971-72, Rogers set the school
record in the 6-mile run (now known as the 10,000 meter) in
1972, which is now third all-time at Penn. He also finished
fifth at the Penn Relays in school-record time of 28:49.9 in
the 6-mile and placed ninth in the Heptagonal Cross Country
Championships in 1971.
Rogers
helped Tuppeny's teams win seven Ivy League, Heptagonal and
IC4A team championships and a third-place finish at the 1971
NCAA Cross Country Championships. "It's a wonderful gift
from one of the many athletes Tuppeny's tutelage
touched," said Penn head coach of track and field Charlie
Powell. "To basically guarantee that Tupp's name will be
associated with Penn forever is a really special gift to the
track and field program. It's an outstanding honor - to the
man, to the program that he put back on the map, and to the
University."
(reprinted
from the University of Pennsylvania's Website)
click here for other archive articles
click here for current articles |
