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Ask any non-UA fan to sum up our collective athletic season, and you'll likely hear about how much the Wildcats underachieved.

They'll probably tell you that our football team stinks and we didn't belong on the same field as Penn State - or Arizona State for that matter.

You'll also hear about how our men's basketball team was upset again in the early rounds of the NCAA tournament, this time by the up-start Badgers from Wisconsin.

Another Pac-10 title, another high seed in the Big Dance, and another early exit.

So, the popular consensus about UA sports this season might be pretty bad.

But an athletic program is more than the money makers. It also includes the also-rans. Teams like volleyball, swimming, softball and golf might not get the publicity as Lute Olson and Dick Tomey's squads, but they get the job done.

Students and other fans have different opinions about UA athletic director Jim Livengood. Some love him, while others curse him for keeping certain coaches and dragging his feet on the plausibility of a student section at basketball games. These are both extremely important issues, and certainly people need to continue to constantly remind Livengood there are still issues to be addressed. And quickly.

Like him or not, though, it is inarguable that Livengood has been successful in bringing the entire UA program to the national forefront. Certainly he didn't do this by himself, as a countless number of head coaches, assistant coaches, strength trainers, and of course athletes were primarily responsible for the rise of the UA athletic department during the last decade.

And Livengood certainly had a legendary predecessor in Cedric Dempsey as a mentor.

But just as UA President Peter Likins is responsible - directly or indirectly - for the business of the university, Livengood has the same chore with UA athletics.

And just like Livengood should be rightly criticized for not giving us our student section, he deserves a little credit for the current state of the program.

Take a closer look at the accomplishments of UA teams and athletes this year, and you'll see that despite the shortcomings of our marquee programs, we are nevertheless a top-10 program.

Women's golf - No. 1 team in the nation and the heavy favorite at this month's NCAA Championships

Softball - No. 2 team in the country and a shot at the national title.

Swimming and diving - women finished second, while the men placed third at the NCAA Championships.

Men's golf - top-10 ranking so far this year.

Volleyball - Sweet 16.

Women's basketball - most wins ever.

Men's basketball - No. 1 seed and Pac-10 champions despite many distractions.

Men's cross country - Pac-10 champs.

If you need further proof, the UA is currently ranked 11th in the Sears Directors' Cup rankings, which rate universities based on all of their sports.

So when your friends and family give you crap this summer about how bad our school is on the field, shove names like Beth Botsford and Roland Schoeman in their faces.

These athletes don't get the national attention like Dennis Northcutt and Loren Woods do, but they're the ones we'll see on TV in Sydney come Olympic time.