Big 12 Championship Tiebreaker Rules

The Big 12 Conference consists of two competitive divisions that often have multiple teams fighting for league supremacy at the end of each season. When records alone fail to differentiate these programs, conference officials turn to an elaborate series of established rules to determine a champion. These procedures have come under fire in recent years, but school athletic directors continue to support the system that currently stands.

  1. Football Tiebreaker Procedures

    • The annual Big 12 Conference football championship game does not necessarily pit the two best teams against each other. Instead, the winners of the North and South divisions duel off to determine what program will be rewarded the conference's automatic Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bid. If two division opponents share the best conference record by year's end, the winner of their head-to-head match will ultimately prevail. If three or more teams are tied, there are seven procedures in place to dwindle the list to two teams, which then allows the conference to revert back to the original tiebreaker rule. The first step pits each team's record against each other, and then against their specific division if the first method fails to sift out a program. If the stalemate remains, the conference then reviews the school's records against the three teams placed immediately below the division leaders. These first three proposals address division records while the fourth tiebreaker analyzes each team's record against common conference opponents. If by some feat these procedures prove ineffective, the Big 12 is then forced to review the BCS national rankings to separate these level squads. This measure should ensure a division champion, but just in case, a sixth procedure selects the team with the best season winning percentage. Finally, a representative is randomly drawn in case all previous tiebreakers fail. Any team deemed ineligible by the NCAA to compete in postseason play will not be allowed to play in the Big 12 Championship game.

    Basketball Tiebreaker Procedures

    • All 12 conference schools are eligible to compete in the Big 12 basketball tournament, and the winner gains the automatic bid to the NCAA postseason championship. The four programs with the best conference records will receive a first-round bye while all other teams are seeded accordingly and matched against each other. First and foremost, head-to-head competition will be used to separate any ties that occur. This is particularly pertinent for non-division opponents who respectively hail from the North and South divisions, but division opponents may have split their two meetings that season. If so, the conference will strictly compare each team's record against fellow division opponents. Big 12 officials will look more specifically at how these schools fared specifically against the division's top opponents if the previous measure fails to determine a top seed. If their records prove even against each division opponent, they next look at how the two teams fared against top teams from the opposing division. Finally, a draw will ultimately determine the higher seed if no other solution prevails.

    Tiebreaker Controversy

    • In 2008, the Big 12 was forced to implement its football tiebreaker procedures to determine which South division school would compete in the conference championship. The three co-champions, Oklahoma, Texas and Texas Tech, were separated by the conference's fifth tiebreaker that determines a division winner based on BCS standings. Oklahoma narrowly edged Texas by 13 thousandths of a point to claim the South division. In the coming months, a debate among conference officials ensued, but proposals failed to modify the tiebreaker system.