As my time here at Iowa State winds down, I frequently find myself looking back on the time I’ve spent here. Because I’m a bit of a sports junkie, that is decidedly one of the areas that has affected me the most. So I thought it’d be fun to count down the top 10 things I have enjoyed about the ISU sports scene during my “tenure”.

10. Volleyball

I’m not a big fan of the sport, and I’ve never been to a game, but I have observed all the trials and tribulations of the women’s volleyball team. From the coaching scandals to what we might call “competitive difficulty”, I’m just impressed that the athletic department found it more fitting to cut the men’s baseball and swimming teams.

9. Gymnastics

Not one of your more visible sports, and definitely not one of the big revenue generators for the athletic department. But this is one of the teams that has consistently been ranked over the last few years, and has certainly earned a great measure of respect and recognition for doing outstanding work, even if they don’t bring in the big bucks.

8. Intramural Sports

Iowa State has one of the largest and best intramural sports programs in the country. With the kind of diversity that the program provides, there is certainly something for every wannabe quarterback, point guard, or for us soccer crazies – “top 9” striker.

7. Wrestling

Can’t really say enough about this team. Consistently one of the top five teams in the country, with multiple All-Americans each year. This year being arguably the best of the last few, with three national champs, five All-Americans, and an unprecedented second place finish at nationals. What can I say – they pretty much kick ass. Heskett, Holker, Knauer and the rest of the guys are great, but we can’t talk ISU wrestling without:

6. Cael Sanderson

I already talked about the wrestling team, but I really think Cael deserves his own spot. He is one of the most dominating athletes ever in any sport, at any level. Say it with me people: One-hundred-and-fifty-nine-and-oh! We’ve all heard stories of Dan Gable and Mike Land, but it’s been pretty cool to be at Iowa State while something this special has been going on. To top it off, the guy is pretty much a class act.

So no offense to the rest of the team (all I need is the ISU wrestling team hunting my skinny butt down), but Cael is, in fact, “the man”.

5. Football

When I got to Iowa State in 1997, Cyclone football was still in the throes of it’s own “competitive difficulties”. They finished 1-9 that year, the only win being against Baylor on homecoming weekend. But almost five years later, it’s a totally different story.

Two bowl games and counting, each following impressive winning records. It remains to be seen if they can beat teams like Nebraska, Texas and K-State, but four in a row against the Hawkeyes pretty much makes all that seem unimportant.

4. Hilton Coliseum

Arguably one of the best college sports arenas in the nation, the James H. Hilton Coliseum stands out as one of my favorite experiences at Iowa State.

Host of the NCAA women’s Midwest Regional recently, Hilton certainly has one of the best atmospheres in college sports. And as the home of Cyclone basketball’s “Hilton Magic”, more than a few Big 12 adversaries still have ghosts in there. Add to that the ability to host wrestling, gymnastics and even ice hockey, and you’ve got one heck of an arena.

3. Coaches

ISU has unquestionably some of the best coaches around. Look at the evidence – Larry Eustachy, Bill Fennelly, Dan McCarney, Bobby Douglas, K.J Kindler – yeah we could be here a while. Our coaches rock, and that’s just the plain honest truth.

2. Basketball

Both men’s and women’s teams have often caused me to echo the NBA slogan – “I love this game.” ISU basketball has brought some of the greatest memories of my time as a student here.

From Marcus Fizer’s monster dunk over Chris Mihm of Texas, to Stacy Frese and the ladies upset of top-seeded UConn in the 1999 NCAA tourney, the list goes on and on. With the multiple Big 12 regular season and tourney championships, it has been thrilling to be around for what has been the most successful stretch in the history ISU basketball.

And by the way, we have the cutest women’s team in the country. I know that’s a chauvinistic, dorky thing to say, but you can get away with stuff like that when you’re graduating and leaving town in a month.

1. Cyclone Spirit

I realize that this is a little corny but I’m a second generation Cyclone, so what can I say – I’ve enjoyed (and intend to continue enjoying) the experience of being a Cyclone. A friend once asked why I felt so strongly in support of these players just because I happen to attend the same school as they do. But that’s just it; they represent the Iowa State Cyclones. And as long as there are Hawkeyes, there will need to be Cyclones to keep them in their place.

Emeka Anyanwu is a senior in electrical engineering from Ames.