Ryan Dunleavy

Staff writer

In Year 2 of the Big Ten for Rutgers, the highs were higher and the lows were lower.

On one hand, women’s soccer earned the school’s first Final Four appearance in any sport since 2007, while wrestling finished ranked No. 10 nationally and produced two All-Americans in the same season for the first time since 1952.

“It’s great to see some of our programs having the success that we want for all of our programs,” athletics director Pat Hobbs said. “We need to find ways to support all of our programs so that they can have similar success.”

READ: How proper nutrition is revolutionizing Rutgers football

On the other hand, football and men’s basketball managed just one conference victory apiece, and both of the school’s revenue sports fired their coaches one day after the season ended.

“There’s an enthusiasm around what we’re doing right now, so it’s great to have that (sampling of) success this year,” Hobbs said. “Let’s keep it going. Let’s get our basketball programs righted, let’s get football moving forward. I think we’re well on the way to doing that now.”

In all, the 14 Rutgers teams that maintain a head-to-head record won 44.4 percent of their games during the 2015-16 academic year – a slight increase from 43.2 percent one year ago.

But Rutgers experienced a significant drop in success during conference play, winning only 28.2 percent of its Big Ten games – down from 39 percent one year ago.

READ: Reviewing Year 1 in Big Ten for Rutgers

How did that happen?

While women’s tennis and field hockey went winless in Big Ten play, gymnastics and women’s volleyball joined football and men’s basketball in the one-win category. Those same six teams combined for a league record of 4-70 and all but gymnastics finished last in the standings.

In men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s track and field, men’s and women’s golf, women’s swimming and diving, and women’s rowing, teams are judged by a conference-wide meet rather than a head-to-head record.

Rutgers did not finish higher than fourth from the bottom in any of 10 opportunities – track and field has separate indoor and outdoor meets – and finished last four times.

Unlike a year ago, men’s teams outperformed the women’s teams.

READ: Rutgers honors best athletics performances of 2015-16

On the men’s side, football, basketball, soccer, wrestling, lacrosse and baseball combined to finish 77-78-2 overall and 23-49 in conference – both improvements from last year.

For the women, basketball, field hockey, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis and volleyball combined to finish 95-132-3 and 27-76-2 in conference – both worse than last year.

The postseason results are just as much a mixed bag, highlighted by wrestling finishing No. 15 at the NCAA Championships as one of only three teams in the nation with 10 individual qualifiers, and the two soccer teams going 5-2 as the only two NCAA Tournament participants.

Men’s lacrosse was an inexplicable NCAA Tournament snub after a record-setting year.

Women’s soccer and men’s lacrosse reached the first two Big Ten Tournament finals in school history, though Rutgers still is searching for its first regular-season or tournament title.

By comparison, Maryland, which entered the Big Ten at the same time, already has 16, according to its athletics website. The Terrapins had more far success in the ACC than the Scarlet Knights did in the old Big East.

READ: Eric LeGrand's ability to play with nephews a testament to progress

Rutgers went 6-7 in conference tournament games, failing to qualify for the shortened field in baseball and field hockey.

Football went from being one of the surprise stories in the nation after capping an 8-5 inaugural Big Ten season with a Quick Lane Bowl victory to missing a bowl for just the second time in 11 years. The program also endured off-field turmoil that led to the firing of coach Kyle Flood.

Women’s basketball took a step back, going from the NCAA Tournament to the WNIT.

Men’s basketball changed coaches for the fourth time since its last winning season in 2005 by firing Eddie Jordan, who was 3-33 in Big Ten games over two seasons.

From an individual aspect, Rutgers captured seven Big Ten titles in track and field, led by All-Americans Corey Crawford and Gabrielle Farquharson.

Wrestlers Anthony Ashnault and Anthony Perrotti became the second- and third- two-time All-Americans in program history. Ashnault also won the program’s first Big Ten title.

Men’s lacrosse’s Adam Charalambides and Scott Bieda, women’s soccer’s Casey Murphy and Erica Skroski, and men’s soccer’s Jason Wright earned top Big Ten individual honors. Brian Brecht (men’s lacrosse) and Dan Donigan (men’s soccer) were named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

READ: Leonte Carroo "cried like a baby" after Dolphins draft pick

Two athletes each from men’s soccer, women’s soccer, women’s basketball and men’s lacrosse, and one each from football and women’s lacrosse were drafted by pro leagues.

But the overall results underscore the uphill climb facing Rutgers in some Olympic sports, especially those like women’s tennis which is not fully funded with scholarships and thus is at a greater competitive disadvantage than others like volleyball.

Rutgers, Iowa and Purdue are the only schools that did not win a Big Ten regular-season or tournament title during 2015-16, pending the results of the baseball tournament.

Two years ago, as American Athletic Conference members, eight Rutgers teams finished with above .500 records and three finished third in conference championships events. Three years ago, Rutgers teams went 186-161-2 with a 69-90-2 record within the still in-tact Big East.