Even the most ardent DOCTOR Gross despiser would have to admit that, as a whole, Syracuse Orange athletics are in a much better place today than they were before he got here. Football issues aside, almost every other program, especially those on the women's side, is improved and/or on its way up.

Another sign of such growth was announced Thursday with the news that 20 Syracuse student-athletes were named All-Americans in 2011-12, the third most in school history.

The 20 total All-Americans this year is surpassed only by the 22 Orange men and women honored in 2009-10 and 21 in 1999-2000. A year ago, SU had 13 honorees.

"We are extremely proud of our All-Americans as they epitomize the hard work that all of our student-athletes at Syracuse put into being the best they can possibly be," Director of Athletics Dr. Daryl Gross said. "Having so many All-Americans across the board confirms that SU is amongst the nation's elite."

The teams with the most All-Americans were women's lacrosse (4), Women's outdoor track & field (3), women's field hockey (3) and men's track and field (2). Seven other programs had one each (Honorable mentions were not included in the tally).

This number is all the more impressive when you realize men's lacrosse had a down year. They're usually good for 2-4 AAs on their own.

Syracuse ranked 50th in the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup this year, the highest ranking ever for the program.