The first phase was the qualification and was played by all 12 teams in a double round-robin to decide their table positions.
After completion of the qualification phase, the division was divided into two groups.
The teams took half of the points obtained in the qualification as bonus into the second stage.
The teams in the NLB played in just one stage, a total of 30 rounds.
A championship play-off was required and this took place on 28 June 1977 at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern in front of 55,000 supporters.