OK, it's lesson time. Today's lesson deals with Arizona sports and your ABCs. This is required knowledge and could help you sometime during your four, five or six years in Tucson. You'll be busy enough, so let's just skip the quiz on the material.

A is for "A" Mountain. It was constructed between November 1915 and March 1916 after the Arizona football team upset Pomona 7-3. Every fall, freshmen trek up the mountain to whitewash the A. Arizona State has an "A" Mountain, too. Every year before the tw o schools play, people try to paint the other school's A. UA students always seem to succeed. ASU students don't. Explanation: Tempe cops don't care. The Tucson police, for some reason, do.

B is for "Bear Down." As John "Button" Salmon, quarterback and captain of the 1926 football team, lay dying after an auto accident, he told coach J.F. "Pop" McKale: "Tell the team to bear down." Notre Dame's George Gipp, famous for his dying words, "Tell them to win one for the Gipper," died two years after Salmon.

C is for Conference. The Wildcats play in the Pacific 10 Conference along with Arizona State, UCLA, Southern Cal, California, Stanford, Oregon, Oregon State, Washington and Washington State.

D is for Dick Tomey. He's been the football coach at Arizona since 1987. The Wildcats' first victory this fall will give Tomey 61 at Arizona and make him the winningest football coach in school history.

E is for Elliott, as in Sean Elliott - arguably the greatest basketball player to put on a Wildcat uniform. He now plays for the San Antonio Spurs and is the only person in school history to have his number retired.

F is for fair-weather fan. The university is filled with them.

G is for golf. Arizona's women won the NCAA championship last year behind the stellar play of sophomore Maria Baena.

H is for Heidi Hornbeek. She was just a freshman last year, but finished third in the all-around at the NCAA gymnastics championships. She and the team are only going to get better.

I is for Icecats. Yes, they play ice hockey in this town. A club team, they finished fifth in the nation last year and were the third biggest ticket draw in all of college hockey. Icecat hockey is the only UA sport at which beer is sold, which could be an explanation for the attendance.

J is for Joan Bonvicini. Her women's basketball team won the National Invitation Tournament last year and could be even better this year. They are overshadowed by their male counterparts, but they are one of the easiest tickets in town. For now.

K is for Kerr. As in Steve Kerr. He and another former Wildcat, Jud Buechler, won NBA championship rings with the Chicago Bulls this year. Kerr is the most accurate three-point shooter in NBA history.

L is for Lute Olson. His Wildcat basketball teams have gone to the Final Four twice (1988, 1994), and he won his 500th career game last season. His teams are so successful, a ticket to a men's hoop game is next to impossible to find.

M is for Maes. Vicky Maes is a junior and one of the top tennis players in the country. She spent most of last season as the NCAA's No. 1 player, but was upset in the NCAA tournament.

N is for NCAA championship. The Arizona softball team won its fourth of the 1990s last year (1991, 1993, 1994, 1996). The baseball team has three (1976, 1980, 1986). The men's and women's golf teams have one each (1992, 1996, respectively).

O is for Olympic medalists. UA has had many in recent years, including swimmer Chrissy Ahmann-Leighton, who won two golds and a silver, and sprinter Michael Bates, who won a bronze in the 200 meters, in Barcelona in 1992. Softball player Leah O'Brien and freshman swimmer Trina Jackson both returned from Atlanta with gold medals.

P is for "Pop" McKale. He's the granddaddy of Arizona athletics. From 1914 to the late 1950s, he served as a baseball, football and basketball coach before becoming athletic director.

Q is for quarterback controversy. Arizona will have one this year. Will it be junior Brady Batten or untested, but highly touted, redshirt Keith Smith?

R is for runners. The UA cross country team is stacked. Last year's NCAA runner-up Amy Skieresz returns for her sophomore year. Junior Bob Keino hopes to follow in the footsteps of his older brother Martin, who won the NCAA cross country title in 1994.

S is for Stitt. Jerry Stitt is the new coach of the Arizona baseball team. After Jerry Kindall's retirement in May, the task of getting the once-proud Arizona baseball team out of the cellar falls on Stitt's shoulders.

T is for Tempe. That's where Arizona State is. Arizona's state rival is predicted to go to the Rose Bowl this year and will probably have to beat Arizona to get there. Tradition dictates that when the big game means a bowl berth for the Sun Devils, they f ind a way to blow it. (See: big game, 1995)

U is for Ugwu, as in shot putter Chima Ugwu. It's such a cool name you feel this odd desire to make it a chant. Go ahead, say it: "Chima Ugwu, Chima Ugwu." The native Nigerian competed for his country at the Olympics and will be a defensive lineman on the UA football team.

V is for volleyball. Head coach Dave Rubio took the women's volleyball team to the Sweet 16 in 1993 and 1994. The men's team is one of the top club squads in the nation.

W is for Wildcats. (What did you think it would be?) The name comes from 1914 when a reporter for the Los Angeles Times said that "The Arizona men showed the fight of wildcats." The Arizona students voted to change the name of all sports from "Varsity" to "Wildcats."

X - and this was a tough one, so it's a stretch - is the Roman numeral for 10. In 1994, Arizona was the only Division I school to have its football and basketball teams finish in the top 10 in the nation.

Y is for youth movement. With six freshmen coming in and no seniors, the Arizona men's basketball team will be young and, for the most part, untested this year.

Z is for zero, as in the number of times Arizona has gone to the Rose Bowl. Of the 21 teams eligible (11 in the Big Ten), Arizona is the only one that has never spent New Year's Day in Pasadena, Calif.

Sports editor Craig Degel shares his thoughts on sports and life every Wednesday in the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

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