American football
Football games last for a total of 60 minutes in professional and college play and are divided into two-halves of 30 minutes and four-quarters of 15 minutes. High school football games are 48 minutes in length with two-halves of 24 minutes and four-quarters of 12 minutes. The two-halves are separated by a halftime period, and the first and third quarters are also followed by a short break. Prior to the start of the game, the referee and team captains for each team meet at midfield for a coin toss. The visiting team is allowed to call 'heads' or 'tails'; the winner of the toss is allowed to decide between choosing whether to receive or kick off the ball or choosing which goal they want to defend, but they can also defer their choice until the second half. The losing team, unless the winning team decides to defer, is allowed to choose the option the winning team did not select, and receives the option to receive, kick, or select a goal to defend to begin the second half. Most teams choose to receive or defer, because choosing to kick the ball to start the game would allow the other team to choose which goal to defend. Teams switch goals following the first and third quarters. If a down is in progress when a quarter ends, play continues until the down is completed.
1923 Niagara vs. Colgate football game
Coach Dwyer of Niagara wanted to play four quarters of eight minutes in length rather than the standard 15-minute quarters, an agreement reached between the schools at an earlier date. Opposing coach Dick Harlow wanted nothing to do with the rule change and insisted on the standard 15 minutes. In protest, the players of Niagara refused to tackle their opponents. Coach Dwyer of Niagara told his team "I will dismiss from the squad any man who makes a tackle. I refuse to ruin you as a football team by playing 60 minutes against a team like that, even if they score 1,000 points." Colgate scored three touchdowns in the first two minutes before Harlow agreed to the 8 minute quarters and resumed the game.