There are few things in life more magnificent than a star athlete at the peak of his or her game.

Maybe you think of Michael Jordan or Kurt Warner or Billie Jean King. It doesn't really matter. You likely picture power, intensity and passion.

At the same time, there are few sights sadder than a fading athletic star. We've all seen a slugger who can't turn on a fastball, the scoring guard who lost a step, or the golfer who can't sink easy putts.

We applaud politely, even as we avert our eyes. No one wants to see a storybook life end sadly, as it does for some athletes.

Truth is, the end of star potential comes early for most athletes. Each step on the ladder is harder to climb, and there is room at the top for only the best of the best.

Those few may earn enough money and fame to last a lifetime. Every other athlete quickly faces a life-defining question: What's next? Some learn too late they were not fully prepared for life after sports.

This is an important topic, one that must be continually addressed by our sports-crazed society. That's why we salute the recent panel discussion, "Preparing for Life After the Game" in the African American Museum, at University Mall in Carbondale. The panel discussion was led by Chad Hoosier, a graduate assistant at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

Saluki greats Mike Glenn and Seymour Bryson were among the panelists.

Glenn advanced to NBA fame. Yet basketball was not his only possibility. His advice to other aspiring athletes is worth repeating: "Don't let that be your whole life," Glenn said. "What you've got to recognize is that God made your whole body. There seems to be an attitude where you were made in a fantastic way from the neck down, but that's false.

"If you were made superior, that you can run and jump and throw and do all these wonderful things because of the area from the neck down, you've got that wonderful stuff all the way to the top," Glenn said.

Our universities offer tremendous educational potential. Yet it is up the student, or the student-athlete, to make the most of the opportunities. The world's best library does no good if the books are never read.

Bryson, the SIUC associate chancellor for diversity and center for academic success director, encourages athletes to enjoy their sports. But athletes also need to consider the temporary nature of their passion.

"You have to prepare yourself to prosper," Bryson recommended. "Remember that education is the key; it was in the past and it is just as true today."

Bryson's advice rings with academic wisdom. It also carries plenty of street credibility. Bryson was a star athlete, too, one who still holds the career rebounding record for men's basketball.

He was ready for life after the game.