In the midst of a year in which too many University of Colorado athletes have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons (see today's front page for the latest example), it's nice to be reminded of the bright side of college athletics.

Here's to Jenny Barringer and the rest of the current and former CU Buffs who will be headed to Beijing this summer.

In case you missed it, the list of Mark Wetmore products going to the Olympics turned last week's U.S. trials into a weeklong advertisement for CU. The school's marketing "gurus" could spend millions of dollars and thousands of hours and not come close to producing the kind of national exposure the school received from the trials.

Almost every night, someone with a close CU connection was competing, and more often than not, earning a trip to the Olympics.

That's the kind of good news -- and good exposure -- CU can't get enough of.

Barringer, who has one more year at CU, epitomizes the kind of athletes Wetmore produces on an annual basis.

A two-time NCAA champion (steeplechase) as well as an NCAA runner-up in cross country, Barringer this year also was named a first-team academic All-American. She carries a 3.67 grade point average, majoring in political science and economics.

And, lest you think her life is confined to running and school, you should also know that she's active in her church, she is serving an internship with U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutterand she works with a program that helps refugees assimilate into American life.

It's enough to keep a half-dozen "normal" students busy.

But the one thing I wish every CU athlete could emulate is Barringer's dedication and devotion to her school.

"One of the reasons I want to remember that I am a college athlete is that while I am wearing a CU uniform I am an ambassador of the University of Colorado," Barringer told a reporter earlier this year.

It's a message that far too many college athletes just don't get -- and not just CU's athletes.

Take a look at the sports page on almost any day and you'll see college athletes in trouble. Louisville. Georgia. Texas. Missouri. Nebraska. Pick a Div. I school, and you'll almost certainly find young men and women who have failed to realize the responsibility -- and opportunity -- they've been given.

It's easy to say that college athletics exploits these athletes. To an extent, that's true. Colleges and the NCAA make millions upon millions of dollars every year on the performance of these athletes.

But those athletes are also being afforded the opportunity to receive an education, an opportunity many of them would not otherwise have. They are provided access to tutors, mentors and career counseling -- and too often, they refuse to accept the responsibility and accountability that comes with such an opportunity.

Simply, they waste the chance.

That's not the case with the young men and women who will represent Colorado in the Olympics. These student-athletes come to CU, take advantage of the opportunities that are provided and make the most of them.

And, when they leave CU, they take with them diplomas and the discipline necessary to succeed in the "real" world.

Truth is, the majority of athletes at Colorado -- and every other school -- do take advantage of the opportunities they've been given. For every CU athlete who makes the news for dumb decisions, dozens of other Buffs succeed in class and on the field. The vast majority leave Colorado with the tools necessary to flourish in their chosen field after graduation. (In fact, the graduation rate for CU's athletes is generally higher than that of the overall student populace.)

But in a day and age when mediocrity seems to be celebrated, it's nice to see excellence and hard work rewarded -- and in the case of CU's Olympians, the reward is well-deserved.

The bonus is how their efforts reflect on the school, the community and the state.