| Season | 2015–16 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Dynamo Dresden |
| Promoted | Dynamo Dresden Erzgebirge Aue Würzburger Kickers |
| Relegated | Stuttgart Kickers Energie Cottbus VfB Stuttgart II |
| Matches | 380 |
| Goals | 905 (2.38 per match) |
| Top goalscorer | Justin Eilers (23 goals) |
2016–17 → | |
The2015–16 3. Liga was the eighth season of the3. Liga.
A total of 20 teams contested the league, including 14 sides from the2014–15 3. Liga.Arminia Bielefeld andMSV Duisburg were directly promoted to the2015–16 2. Bundesliga at the end of the 2014–15 season. Bielefeld made an immediate return to the 2. Bundesliga after being relegated in2013–14. Duisburg returned to the 2. Bundesliga after two seasons in the third tier. The two promoted teams were replaced byFC Erzgebirge Aue andVfR Aalen, who finished in the bottom two places of the2014–15 2. Bundesliga table.
At the other end of the table,Borussia Dortmund II,SpVgg Unterhaching andSSV Jahn Regensburg were relegated to the2015–16 Regionalliga. The three relegated teams were replaced by the three winners of the2014–15 Regionalliga promotion playoffs.SV Werder Bremen II from theRegionalliga Nord returned to the national level after three seasons in the fourth tier, while1. FC Magdeburg from theRegionalliga Nordost andWürzburger Kickers from theRegionalliga Bayern are playing their debut seasons in the 3. Liga.
A further place in the league was available via a two-legged play-off between third-placed 2014–15 3. Liga teamHolstein Kiel and 16th-placed 2014–15 2. Bundesliga sideTSV 1860 München. The tie ended 2–1 on aggregate and saw Kiel remaining in the 3. Liga.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dynamo Dresden(C, P) | 38 | 21 | 15 | 2 | 75 | 35 | +40 | 78 | Promotion to2. Bundesliga and qualification forDFB-Pokal |
| 2 | Erzgebirge Aue(P) | 38 | 19 | 13 | 6 | 42 | 21 | +21 | 70 | |
| 3 | Würzburger Kickers(O, P) | 38 | 16 | 16 | 6 | 43 | 25 | +18 | 64 | Qualification forpromotion play-offs andDFB-Pokal |
| 4 | 1. FC Magdeburg | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 49 | 37 | +12 | 56 | Qualification forDFB-Pokal |
| 5 | VfL Osnabrück | 38 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 56 | |
| 6 | Chemnitzer FC | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 52 | 46 | +6 | 55 | |
| 7 | Sonnenhof Großaspach | 38 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 58 | 47 | +11 | 54 | |
| 8 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 38 | 14 | 8 | 16 | 47 | 50 | −3 | 50 | |
| 9 | Preußen Münster | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 49 | |
| 10 | Hansa Rostock | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 42 | 48 | −6 | 49 | |
| 11 | Fortuna Köln | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 56 | 69 | −13 | 49 | |
| 12 | Mainz 05 II[a] | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 48 | 47 | +1 | 48 | |
| 13 | Hallescher FC | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 48 | 48 | 0 | 48 | |
| 14 | Holstein Kiel | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 48 | |
| 15 | VfR Aalen | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 44 | |
| 16 | Wehen Wiesbaden | 38 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 35 | 48 | −13 | 43 | |
| 17 | Werder Bremen II[a] | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 42 | 56 | −14 | 43 | |
| 18 | Stuttgarter Kickers(R) | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 38 | 52 | −14 | 43 | Relegation toRegionalliga |
| 19 | Energie Cottbus(R) | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 32 | 52 | −20 | 41 | |
| 20 | VfB Stuttgart II[a](R) | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 38 | 63 | −25 | 31 |
| Home \ Away | AAL | AUE | BR2 | CFC | FCE | SGD | ERF | SGS | HFC | KSV | FKO | FCM | MA2 | PRM | OSN | ROS | SKI | ST2 | WEH | FCW |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VfR Aalen | — | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 |
| Erzgebirge Aue | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Werder Bremen II | 1–1 | 4–0 | — | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Chemnitzer FC | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | — | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 4–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Energie Cottbus | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | — | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Dynamo Dresden | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | — | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 3–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–2 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Sonnenhof Großaspach | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 3–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–2 |
| Hallescher FC | 3–1 | 1–0 | 6–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 |
| Holstein Kiel | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 5–2 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–1 | 0–4 | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Fortuna Köln | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 3–0 | 1–5 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–3 | — | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–1 | 0–3 |
| 1. FC Magdeburg | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | — | 3–1 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Mainz 05 II | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | — | 2–3 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Preußen Münster | 0–2 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 4–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| VfL Osnabrück | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| Hansa Rostock | 3–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 |
| Stuttgarter Kickers | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | — | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| VfB Stuttgart II | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Wehen Wiesbaden | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–3 | 3–1 | — | 0–0 |
| Würzburger Kickers | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | — |
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals[27] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dynamo Dresden | 23 | |
| 2 | 1. FC Magdeburg | 19 | |
| 3 | Dynamo Dresden | 18 | |
| 4 | Fortuna Köln | 16 | |
| 5 | Chemnitzer FC | 15 | |
| 6 | Fortuna Köln | 14 | |
| 7 | Mainz 05 II | 12 | |
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | |||
| 9 | Five players | 11 | |