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Big 12 unveils new tiebreaker procedure

The Big 12 will actually have “one true champion” in 2015.

After the conference essentially handcuffed itself from consideration for a spot in the College Football Playoff in 2014 with TCU and Baylor finishing as co-champions, a new tiebreaker system was formalized on Wednesday.

You can read the new procedure below, via ESPN’s Max Olson:

(via Max Olson/ESPN)
(via Max Olson/ESPN)

As you can see, if two teams have the same record, the team that won their head-to-head matchup (like Baylor beat TCU last season) is declared the conference champion.

If three or more teams are tied after the league’s round robin style conference schedule, it gets a bit more complicated. The teams will be compared by their results against the next highest placed teams. For example, if two of the three tied teams beat the team that finished fourth and the other lost to the fourth-placed team, the team that lost would be eliminated.

Afterward, the champion would be determined by head-to-head play.

If those two tiebreakers don’t do the trick, the champion would be determined by scoring differential (points scored vs. points allowed) among the tied teams. And if all three options cannot break a tie, the “champion will be determined by draw at the Conference office.”

The implementation of this new tiebreaker system comes a day after conference commissioner Bob Bowlsby said that the league would probably not pursue the opportunity of playing a conference championship game.

This distinction could ultimately have implications on the College Football Playoff. Baylor and TCU, last season's conference co-champions, were left out of the top four and CFP committee members have said that the Big 12’s lack of a champion did not help its members’ final resume for the top four. Ultimately, Ohio State and its dominating performance in the Big Ten title game vaulted the Buckeyes ahead of Baylor and TCU.

It remains to be seen if the lack of a conference championship game will effect the Big 12’s chances in 2015, but at least the league’s slogan – “One True Champion” – will actually live up to its billing.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!