2015–16 Scottish Premiership
The 2015–16 Scottish Premiership was the third season of the Scottish Premiership, the highest division of Scottish football. The season began on 1 August 2015. Celtic were the defending champions.
Twelve teams contested the league: Aberdeen, Celtic, Dundee, Dundee United, Hamilton Academical, Heart of Midlothian, Inverness CT, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Partick Thistle, Ross County and St Johnstone.
Teams
Promoted from Scottish Championship- Heart of Midlothian
- St Mirren
Stadia and locations
Personnel and kits
| Team | Manager | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Aberdeen |  | | Adidas | Saltire Energy |
| Celtic |  | | New Balance | Magners |
| Dundee | |  | Puma | Kilmac Energy |
| Dundee United | Gordon Young |  | Nike | Calor |
| Hamilton Academical | | | Adidas | Nevis, Scotia Aid |
| Heart of Midlothian | |  | Puma | Save the Children |
| Inverness CT | | | Carbrini | Subway |
| Kilmarnock |  | | Erreà | QTS |
| Motherwell | | | Macron | Cash Converters |
| Partick Thistle | |  | Joma | Kingsford Capital Management |
| Ross County | | | Carbrini | Stanley CRC Evans Offshore |
| St Johnstone | | | Joma | Invest in Perth |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Motherwell | | Sacked | 23 September 2015 | 10th | | 13 October 2015 |
| Dundee United | | Sacked | 26 September 2015 | 11th |  | 14 October 2015 |
| Kilmarnock | | Resigned | 30 January 2016 | 11th | Lee McCulloch | 30 January 2016 |
| Kilmarnock | Lee McCulloch | End of interim | 15 February 2016 | 10th | Lee Clark | 15 February 2016 |
| Dundee United | | Sacked | 4 May 2016 | 12th | Gordon Young | 4 May 2016 |
Tournament format and regulations
Basic
In the initial phase of the season, the 12 teams will play a round-robin tournament whereby each team plays each one of the other teams three times. After 33 games, the league splits into two sections of six teams, with each team playing each other in that section. The league attempts to balance the fixture list so that teams in the same section play each other twice at home and twice away, but sometimes this is impossible. A total of 228 matches will be played, with 38 matches played by each team.Promotion and relegation
Heart of Midlothian were promoted as 2014–15 Scottish Championship winners. On 2 May, bottom club Dundee United were defeated 2–1 away to their city rivals Dundee, a defeat which confined them to relegation of the Championship. Craig Wighton, a local Dundee fan, scored the winning goal in the 92nd minute of the game. The champion of that league will be promoted to the Premiership for the 2016–17 season. The team that finishes 11th in the Premiership will play the winner of the Championship playoffs in two playoff games, with the winner securing a Premiership spot for the 2016–17 season.League table
Results
Matches 1–22
Teams play each other twice, once at home and once away.Matches 23–33
Teams play every other team once.Matches 34–38
After 33 matches, the league splits into two sections of six teams each, with teams playing every other team in their section once. The exact matches are determined upon the league table at the time of the split.Top six
Bottom six
Top scorers
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Leigh Griffiths | Celtic | 31 |
| 2 | Kane Hemmings | Dundee | 21 |
| 3 |  Adam Rooney | Aberdeen | 20 |
| 4 | Louis Moult | Motherwell | 15 |
| 4 | Liam Boyce | Ross County | 15 |
| 6 | Kris Doolan | Partick Thistle | 14 |
| 6 | Steven MacLean | St Johnstone | 14 |
| 8 | Billy Mckay | Dundee United | 12 |
| 8 |  Juanma | Hearts | 12 |
| 10 | Miles Storey | Inverness CT | 11 |