Ole Miss-Oklahoma moved to Sunday after FAA ground stop
Oklahoma's athletic director objected as Friday's nationwide flight halt pushed back kick-offs for Utah and BYU, while Penn State's game stays on.
Ole Miss's visit to Oklahoma has been moved to Sunday, and several other college football kick-offs have shifted, after a nationwide FAA ground stop halted US flights for several hours on Friday.
The Guardian reports that NBA, NHL and college teams were all affected. Some searched for hotel rooms, others rebooked flights, and several college football programmes chartered buses instead. Transport officials cited “extraordinary circumstances” and communication problems at regional air traffic control centres.
Pennlive reports that the ground stop was lifted shortly after 8.30pm, with officials warning that problems could persist. The Guardian says teams faced more than four hours of uncertainty.
Oklahoma objects to Sunday game
The most contested change involves Ole Miss at Oklahoma. According to NBC Sports, the game moved from 4.15pm ET on Saturday to 1pm ET on Sunday. The SEC said Ole Miss could not leave Oxford on Friday night, and that the team's charter company could not arrange a late-night departure once the stoppage ended.
Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny said the move came over the university's strong objection. He said Commissioner Greg Sankey told Oklahoma that failing to play at the set time would mean a forfeit.
“Put simply, this decision isn’t fair to our athletes, our institution, or to Sooner Nation.” – Roger Denny
Denny said Oklahoma would comply, adding that the school was obligated to play when directed.
Kick-offs moved across the country
Utah's game at Arizona now starts at 8.30pm. The Utes were grounded in Salt Lake City after their flight to Tucson was called off. BYU has moved its game to 5pm at LaVell Edwards Stadium, from an original 1.30pm start. Baylor, stuck in Waco, said it would travel to Utah on Saturday morning. The Utah men's basketball game against Washington has been moved from Saturday to noon on Sunday.
Utah State, due at San Diego State on Saturday night, was also grounded and had no confirmed plans. Weber State assistant athletic director Paul Grua said on social media that the Wildcats could not fly to Flagstaff for their 2pm game against Northern Arizona.
Penn State game still on
Penn State's Big Ten game against Minnesota is still set for a 7pm kick-off at Beaver Stadium. Pennlive, citing Lions247, reports that the Gophers are expected to fly to State College on Saturday, leaving at 9.30am. They had been on their charter plane for a planned 2.30pm departure on Friday when flights were halted.
Conferences respond
The Big 12 said it was evaluating potential changes to Saturday's schedule. The SEC said the safety and well-being of student-athletes, coaches and team personnel remained its highest priority.
Texas and Tennessee returned to their campuses during the stoppage. Auburn chose to travel to Mississippi State by bus, and the SEC pushed that game back from noon ET to 4.15pm to give the Tigers more time to reach Starkville. Purdue also travelled by bus from West Lafayette.
Transportation secretary Sean Duffy said that once flights resumed, larger general aviation movements would take priority over smaller ones.
Is moving Ole Miss-Oklahoma to Sunday a fair compromise, or an unfair change forced on Oklahoma?
