For all its progress in national prestige and finances in recent years, there remains a nagging constant where the University of Wisconsin Athletic Department is concerned.

A majority of its programs remain unable to avoid the occasional downturn in performance.

Just when you think football is going to drop anchor in the Top 25 — and perhaps become a fixture in the Bowl Championship Series discussion under coach Bret Bielema — along comes 6-5 and the tepid thrill of simply being bowl eligible.

Just when you think volleyball has become an absolute in the Big Ten Conference title chase and the NCAA tournament, along comes the possibility the Badgers will finish under .500 in league play and sit out the postseason for the first time in 10 years under coach Pete Waite.

Just when you think men's hockey coach Mike Eaves has it figured out by virtue of an NCAA title in 2005-06, along comes two pock-marked seasons and a 0-6-1 start to the current one.

There are two points to be made here:

1. We should appreciate the current models of consistency at UW, including men's basketball, men's cross country, men's track, women's hockey and women's rowing.

2. We should acknowledge the UW programs that are on upward trajectories, including men's rowing, men's tennis, men's swimming, women's cross country, women's swimming, women's track and wrestling.

A unique opportunity in this process presents itself Friday night at 7 when the Badgers stage their first wrestling meet at the Kohl Center by hosting second-ranked Iowa State.

UW is ranked 12th and fresh off three strong showings in the Big Ten/ACC Duals. This will be an opportunity to move the performance bar even higher because 13 wrestlers in the match are ranked nationally and four bouts will pit one against another.

The two atop the marquee are at heavyweight, where the Cyclones will send No. 2 Dave Zabriske against No. 3 Kyle Massey, and at 197 pounds, where top-rated Jake Varner will face No. 5 Dallas Herbst for UW.

The Badgers ordinarily have their home dual meets at the Field House — a great venue because it's intimate and fans are almost sitting on the benches — but the potential dividends from trying something like this are many.

"It's the day before the last football game of the season here, and a chance for us to kind of showcase our program before some people that haven't see much wrestling before, with the football fans being down here," UW coach Barry Davis said.

High school and youth wrestlers will be admitted to the dual for free as part of Youth Day.

"I know high school wrestling is starting right around the corner here," Davis said, "so it's just a great kickoff all the way around."

The Badgers are coming off very strong dual meet seasons — 14-4-1 in 2007-08, 19-3 in 2006-07 — and have pieced together some highly regarded recruiting classes of late. So it seems clear that things continue to move in the right direction.

As we've seen, few, if any, of the sports programs at UW are totally immune to down cycles. The key is you can't be in them for very long.