HOFN's Top Collegiate Athletic Programs

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10. California

Highlights:

• M Water Polo (1st)
• W Volleyball (3rd)
• M Swimming (4th)
• W Swimming (5th)

The aptly named Golden Bears tore through the water again this winter. First, the Bears won back-to-back titles in men's water polo. Then the storied swimming program - home to Olympians such as Natalie Coughlin - placed both its men's and women's team in the top five at the NCAA Championships.

9. Tennessee

Highlights:

• W Basketball (1st)
• M Track & Field (5th)

No school combines elite programs in the three major sports (football, men and women's basketball) like the Vols, which all claimed the SEC East crown. Led by legendary coach Pat Summitt, the Lady Vols won back-to-back national titles on the hardwood, their eighth overall. Between LaMarcus Coker's dismissal for a fourth failed drug test and Britton Colquitt's suspension for a DUI, the gridiron gang dragged down UT's ranking.

8. Kansas

Highlights:

• M Basketball (1st)

The normally downtrodden football program surpassed all expectations by going 12-1 and winning the Orange Bowl. The end of the men's basketball season was even more miraculous. Trailing by nine to Memphis with 2:12 remaining in the national championship game, Kansas rallied for the title.

7. Washington University (Division III)

Highlights:

• W Volleyball (1st)
• M Basketball (1st)
• W Track & Field (3rd)
• W Cross Country (3rd)
• M Soccer (5th)

The Bears cruised to their first NCAA basketball title by crushing defending champion Amherst by 22 points while the women's volleyball team captured its ninth NCAA crown, a D-III record.

6. Ohio State

Highlights:

• Fencing (1st)
• Wrestling (2nd)
• M Soccer (2nd)
• Football (4th)

Despite crushing losses in each of the last two BCS title games, the football squad is an astounding 23-3 over that period. In a mammoth athletic department that boasts 36 varsity sports, fencing fared best by winning its third NCAA title. The men's basketball Buckeyes won the NIT crown despite losing two players that went in the top four of last year's NBA Draft.

5. USC

Highlights:

• W Soccer (1st)
• Football (2nd)
• M Water Polo (2nd)
• W Volleyball (3rd)

Only at USC is it considered a "down year" to finish second in the country, as the football and water polo teams did. The women's soccer team won its first-ever NCAA title and with top-notch baseball, softball and tennis programs still in action, the Trojans could end up worthy of the No.1 spot on this list.