This process was adopted from the National Football League, so that the USFL teams could have an equal opportunity to sign eligible players from college.
[3] For the 1984 and the 1985 seasons, the collegiate draft was given the official name: "United States Football League Player Selection Meeting".
The USFL also practiced an annual territorial draft, in which teams from the league would have "protected" colleges from their respective states, from which they could select a number of players without them being subjected to the regular collegiate craft.
With the territorial draft, local college or professional football players, would end up playing for the state's USFL team.
In the 1985 USFL territorial draft, it was raised to six schools per team (25 selections), which was speculated in the media as a way to allow the New Jersey Generals to sign quarterback Doug Flutie.