Colorado University Athletics
Barringer Named Wooden Cup Semi-Finalist
ATLANTA ? University of Colorado senior Jenny Barringer has been named a semi-finalist for the 5th Annual Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup Award.
The Wooden Cup is given to a collegiate and a professional athlete who have made the greatest positive influence in the lives of others. Barringer is one of 16 student-athletes who were named a semi-finalist for the award; another five were named finalists.
Half of the score is decided from what the athlete does in the college community and society while the other half is his/her athletic accomplishments, relationships with teammates and coaches, as well as how he/she deals with
Barringer, a member of the cross country and track & field team at CU, competed at the 2008 Olympic Games and set the American record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 9:22.26 in the finals to place ninth overall. She was the highest placing American in the race. Barringer also won the 2008 NCAA title in the event to earn her second NCAA title and her fifth All-American honor.
In the classroom, Barringer is a member of the Academic All-Big 12 team, the Dean’s List, Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll and was a 2008 Academic All-American. She owns a 3.655 GPA while majoring in political science and economics.
Outside of CU, Barringer is very involved in her community. She is a member of the Cornerstone Church in Boulder and has been working with the refugee ministry since her sophomore year. Barringer weekly mentors a Sudanese boy that the church sponsors. She helps him with his homework, finances, and assimilating into our culture.
Her church also sponsors a Burmese family. Barringer helps with one of the children, who is deaf, since she is fluent in sign language. She attended school with the child once a week as well as special events.
Founded by Athletes for a Better World (ABW), a non-profit organization committed to changing the culture of American sports, the Wooden Cup is unique in that it is open to athletes in all collegiate and professional sports. Nominations come from every conference in the NCAA.
Cal Ripken is known to us all as the “Iron Man” of baseball for having played in 2,632 consecutive games. He received the third highest vote tally in the history of the Hall of Fame, and has been named by Condoleeza Rice as a Special Sports Envoy for the US State Department traveling the world as a spokesperson for character, fair play and sportsmanship. Now a successful businessman owning several teams, businesses, as well as heading “Ripken baseball” for 800,000 kids aged 4-12, Ripken has become an American institution whose life is an example of “winning more than the game,” the slogan of ABW.
The 2008 Collegiate Wooden Cup recipient will be announced at the award ceremony Jan. 14. Finalists for the collegiate division include:
? Ryan Adler ? Hobart College, Ice hockey
? Andrew Berry ? Harvard College, Football
? Lauren Mioton ? Purdue University, Basketball
? Tim Tebow ? University of Florida, Football
? Rob Whiting ? Vanderbilt University, Cross country
The Wooden Cup is named in honor of John Wooden, one of the most successful coaches in collegiate history. Wooden’s legacy as a person of integrity, high moral character, compassion, and civic-mindedness continues to make him one of the most admired coaches in the history of sport.
Recipients of the Coach Wooden Citizenship Cup are chosen by a committee chaired by Vincent Dooley, former University of Georgia athletic director, and other distinguished individuals involved in athletics across the country.
About Athletes for a Better World:
Founded in 1998, Athletes for a Better World (ABW) exists to change the culture of sport by developing individual character, teamwork, and civic responsibility through commitment to the Code for Living. ABW’s vision is to have the Code become a part of every sport at every level, so that it becomes the common language and standard expectation of behavior for everyone. ABW provides free support and resources to coaches and athletes across the country who want to teach and live out these values. “The Code for Living” can be found on playing fields, locker rooms and athletic facilities across the country. Currently, ABW players and coaches are represented in every state and several foreign countries.
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