There's no debating that Rutgers will be a lot better off financially by 2021. That's the year Rutgers becomes a full financial partner with the Big Ten, and it's when anywhere between $25 million and $40 million in conference revenue is expected to come rolling in.

There's also no debating that Rutgers resides in a less advantageous position from a competitive standpoint while playing in the Big Ten, which produced national champions in football (Ohio State), women's cross country (Michigan State), women's volleyball (Penn State), wrestling (Ohio State), women's ice hockey (Minnesota), women's lacrosse (Maryland) and national runner-ups in men's basketball (Wisconsin), men's lacrosse (Maryland) and softball (Michigan).

Not unexpectedly, Rutgers got off to a rocky start in Year 1 of the Big Ten as its' 14 teams compiled a .434 winning percentage overall and a .280 winning percentage in conference play during the 2014-15 school year. The Scarlet Knights finished last in the regular-season standings in five sports and last in six Big Ten Championship events.

But five years after the conference landscape saw a major shift with Nebraska (among others) leaving the Big 12 for the Big Ten, Fox Sports writer Stewart Mandel sought out to find which schools and conferences "benefited or suffered the most'' from conference realignment.

His answer?

That's right: Rutgers.

Mandel wrote:

PLUS:

A look at how Rutgers athletics fared in Year 1 of the Big Ten

Meanwhile, Cincinnati and Connecticut — two schools that enjoyed more success than Rutgers in football and across the board in their Big East days — were declared the biggest losers.

Five years after the Big Ten initially expanded by adding Nebraska — and nearly one year since the Scarlet Knights officially joined the Big Ten — is Rutgers a winner or a loser as a result of the conference shuffle? Tell us what you think by commenting below:

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.