CHARLOTTE, N.C. (theACC.com) – The Atlantic Coast Conference has announced a new football championship tiebreaker policy that will take effect beginning with the 2026 season, reflecting the league's transition to a nine-game conference schedule and ensuring a fair and equitable process for determining participants in the ACC Football Championship Game.
The updated tiebreaking procedure is built on three guiding principles:
- Head-to-head results will always matter most.
- No team will be overly rewarded or penalized based on the number of conference games it played.
- When head-to-head competition cannot separate tied teams, the team with the strongest overall body of work will earn the opportunity to compete for the ACC Championship and the conference's automatic qualifier to the College Football Playoff.
The updated championship tiebreaker policy was developed to reward head-to-head results, account for the league's teams playing an alternate number of conference games, while also identifying the two most deserving teams to compete for the ACC Football Championship and the conference's automatic berth into the College Football Playoff.
The revised policy was approved following a comprehensive review by the ACC's Athletics Directors. The evaluation included more than 10,000 simulated season outcomes to ensure the model fairly addressed a wide range of championship scenarios.
The 2026 season marks the beginning of the ACC's move to a nine-game conference schedule and presents a unique transition year. Due to previously scheduled non-conference games against Power 4 opponents, five ACC institutions—Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech and North Carolina—will continue to play eight conference games in 2026. The league's remaining 12 programs will play nine conference games while also facing one Power 4 non-conference opponent.
Beginning in 2027, the ACC's 17-member football alignment will result in one institution each season playing an eight-game conference schedule on a rotating basis. That school will be required to schedule two Power 4 non-conference opponents, while the remaining 16 institutions will play nine conference games.
The complete ACC Football Championship tiebreaker procedures are below.
ACC Football Tiebreaker Policy
As Amended July 1, 2026
The Atlantic Coast Conference Football Champion will be decided by a game (the "ACC Football Championship Game") between the Top Two Teams.
The Top Two Teams shall be the two ACC teams with the highest percentage of Conference wins during all regular-season Conference competition and/or team(s) which played an alternate number of Conference games and have either the same number of Conference wins or the same number of Conference losses as the team(s) with the highest percentage of Conference wins.
To be among the Top Two Teams, a team must be eligible to compete in the postseason. Conference games against otherwise postseason-ineligible teams will always be counted in the league standings and in application of the tiebreaker policy.
If three (3) or more teams are tied with the highest percentage of wins, or two (2) or more teams are tied with the second-highest percentage of wins, the following tiebreaker shall be administered to determine the representative(s) in the ACC Football Championship Game.
ACC Football Tiebreaker
1. Defining Tied Teams
- Step 1: Identify the team or teams with the best Conference win percentage.
- Step 2: Any team or teams which played an alternate number of Conference games and have either the same number of Conference wins or the same number of Conference losses as the team(s) identified in Step 1.
- No other teams may be defined as Tied Teams.
2. Once the Tied Teams Have Been Identified
If teams played an alternate number of Conference games, all ties will be broken starting with the highest win percentage and working downward.
Two-Team Tie
- The tied team which defeated the other tied team in head-to-head Conference competition.
- The tied team with the better ranking in the Team Success Ranking provided by SportSource Analytics following the conclusion of all regular-season games.
- The participant shall be chosen by a draw as administered by the Commissioner or Commissioner's designee.
Three (or More) Team Tie
If all the Tied Teams are common opponents:
- The Tied Team with the best record among the Tied Teams. If necessary, the tiebreaker restarts, including the definition of tied teams.
- The Tied Team with the best Team Success Ranking provided by SportSource Analytics following the conclusion of the regular season. If necessary, the tiebreaker restarts.
- The participant shall be chosen by a draw as administered by the Commissioner or Commissioner's designee. If necessary, the tiebreaker restarts.
If all the Tied Teams are NOT common opponents:
- The Tied Team which defeated each of the other Tied Teams is placed into the Championship Game and removed from the tie. The Tied Team which lost to each of the other Tied Teams is removed from the tie. If necessary, the tiebreaker restarts.
- The Tied Team with the best Team Success Ranking provided by SportSource Analytics following the conclusion of the regular season is placed into the Championship Game and removed from the tie. If necessary, the tiebreaker restarts.
- The participant shall be chosen by a draw as administered by the Commissioner or Commissioner's designee. If necessary, the tiebreaker restarts.
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