Sun Belt Tiebreaker Rules
How Sun Belt's published tiebreaker procedure works, and exactly how SportsSimulate's 2025 season simulation evaluates every step - written as reference material independent of any particular week's scenarios.
The Sun Belt splits into East and West divisions - this procedure first decides each division's own champion using the steps below. The two division champions are then seeded 1-2 by overall conference record, with head-to-head, then a computer-rankings composite (not simulated - pending a ratings feed), then a coin toss as fallbacks if that's still tied.
- 1
Head-to-head record
If the tied teams played each other this season, that result decides it directly - among three or more tied teams, this is each team's combined record against just the others in the tie.
- 2
Record against the next-highest-placed common opponent, working down the standings
Starting from the best-placed team the tied group has in common, each tied team's record against that opponent is compared - if that's still even, the process repeats against the next-best common opponent, and so on down the standings.
- 3
Combined record against common conference opponents
Each tied team's record against every conference opponent that all of them played is compared, treating those shared opponents as a single group.
- 4
Strength of schedule
The aggregate difficulty of each tied team's full-season schedule, based on opponents' win percentages.
- 5
Overall winning percentage
Winning percentage across all games played, not just conference games - so it can differ from total wins when teams have played a different number of games.
- 6
Random draw
If every step above still leaves teams tied, the tie is broken by a random draw - in practice, a coin toss.
Official source: Sun Belt Football Tie-Breaking Procedures
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the Sun Belt Championship Game tiebreaker work?
When two or more teams finish tied atop the Sun Belt standings, the conference's own published tiebreaker procedure decides the order - working through each of these 6 steps in turn until one of them produces a winner: Head-to-head record, then Record against the next-highest-placed common opponent, working down the standings, then Combined record against common conference opponents, then Strength of schedule, then Overall winning percentage, then Random draw.
Did the Sun Belt tiebreaker procedure change for the 2025 season?
No - Sun Belt's tiebreaker procedure for 2025 is unchanged from the prior season.
Does strength of schedule affect Sun Belt tiebreakers?
Yes - strength of schedule is the fourth step in Sun Belt's published tiebreaker procedure, only reached if the steps before it don't separate the tied teams.
Do Sun Belt tiebreakers depend on CFP committee rankings?
No - Sun Belt's published tiebreaker procedure doesn't reference CFP committee rankings at any step.
What happens if a Sun Belt tie is still unbroken after every tiebreaker step?
Sun Belt's procedure falls back to a random draw (in practice, a coin toss) if every step before it - Head-to-head record, then Record against the next-highest-placed common opponent, working down the standings, then Combined record against common conference opponents, then Strength of schedule, then Overall winning percentage - still leaves the tied teams even.
What's different about how Sun Belt breaks a championship tie?
The Sun Belt splits into East and West divisions - this procedure first decides each division's own champion using the steps below. The two division champions are then seeded 1-2 by overall conference record, with head-to-head, then a computer-rankings composite (not simulated - pending a ratings feed), then a coin toss as fallbacks if that's still tied.