<P> The short - lived World Football League, for its inaugural 1974 season (the same year the NFL established sudden death in the regular season), used a fifteen - minute quarter of extra time, divided into two halves . </P> <P> The New York Pro Football League, a 1910s - era league that eventually had several of its teams join the NFL, used the replay to settle ties in its playoff tournament . The replay was used in the 1919 tournament to decide the championship between the Buffalo Prospects and the Rochester Jeffersons had played to a tie on Thanksgiving; Buffalo won the replay 20--0 to win the championship . </P> <P> In college (since the 1996 season) and high school football, as well as the Canadian Football League (since the 1986 season), an overtime procedure is used to determine the winner . This method is sometimes referred to as a "Kansas Playoff", or "Kansas Plan" because of its origins for high school football in that state . A brief summary of the rules: </P> <Ul> <Li> A coin toss determines which side shall attempt to score first, and at which end zone the scores shall be attempted . </Li> <Li> Each team in turn will receive one possession (similar to innings in baseball), starting with first - and - 10 from a fixed point on the opponent's side of the field: <Ul> <Li> In college football, the possession begins at the opponent's 25 - yard line . </Li> <Li> Under standard high school football rules, the possession begins at the 10 - yard line . However, the rulebook allows state associations to use different yardage; the 15, 20, and 25 - yard lines are variously used . </Li> <Li> In the CFL, where a single point can be scored on a punt, the possession begins at the 35 - yard line . </Li> </Ul> </Li> <Li> The game clock does not run during overtime, but the play clock is enforced . </Li> <Li> A team's possession ends when it scores (touchdown or field goal), misses a field goal, or turns over the ball (either on downs or by the defense otherwise gaining possession). </Li> <Li> As usual, a touchdown by the offense is followed by a try for one or two points . In NCAA football, starting in the third overtime period, teams must attempt a two - point conversion after a touchdown . Since 2010, CFL teams must also attempt the two - point conversion after any touchdown in overtime . </Li> <Li> In college football, the defense may score a touchdown on a play on which it gains possession by turnover; such a play will satisfy the condition of each team having a possession and will therefore end the game . In high school football, the defense is generally not allowed to score if it gains possession, although the Oregon School Activities Association adopted the college rule experimentally in 2005, and the University Interscholastic League of Texas, the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, and the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association use NCAA football rules . If scoring is not allowed or the turnover play does not end with a score, regardless of the eventual position of the ball at the end of the play, the team assumes offense and will begin their procedure from the specified position on the field . </Li> <Li> Each team receives one charged time - out per offensive or defensive series (except in the CFL). </Li> <Li> If the score remains tied at the end of the first overtime period, the procedure is repeated . The team with the second possession in one overtime will have the first possession in the next overtime . </Li> <Li> In the CFL there is a limit of two overtime procedures in regular - season games, and if the scores are still level, the game is a tie, but in playoff games, overtime periods are continued until a winner is determined . </Li> <Li> In American college and high school football, the overtime periods are continued until a winner is determined . </Li> <Li> All points scored in overtime count as if they were scored in regulation . (This is in contrast to the analogous penalty shootout used in other sports, where shootout points are counted separately and only one point is awarded to the winner .) </Li> </Ul>

When did they start overtime in college football