The following 13 sports will count toward the series: baseball, men's basketball, women's basketball, women's cross country, women's diving, football, men's golf, women's golf, men's soccer, women's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis, and volleyball. These are all sports that either compete head to head or will face each other in the same tournament or meet. The winning team in each sport (including postseason) earns one point, while a half a point will be awarded if the teams evenly split a series throughout the year (example, if Carolina baseball were to win 2 of 3 from Clemson in the regular season, but Clemson later wins 2 of 3 in postseason play, both teams would be awarded half a point each for splitting their meetings). In the case of a tie in the 2015–2016 year, the winner of the schools' annual food drive and the average student athlete GPA will be used for tie breaker. After the 2015–2016 year, the previous year's winner will retain the Palmetto Series trophy in the event of a tie.