FAA Ground Stop Sends College Teams Onto Buses and Pushes Games Back
The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights nationwide for more than four hours on Friday, leaving NBA, NHL and college teams scrambling to reach weekend games. The stop was lifted Friday night in Washington.
A ground stop is an order that holds planes on the ground at their departure airports. Transportation officials blamed "extraordinary circumstances" caused by communications problems at regional air traffic control centers, the hubs that guide planes between airports. The Guardian reported the stop covered the whole country, not just one region.
Several ranked college football teams were caught at the gate. No. 2 Utah, No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Tennessee were left at a standstill as they prepared to leave for road games. Texas and Tennessee returned to their campuses and planned to fly out as soon as the stop lifted, aiming to arrive before game day.
Other teams chose the road. Auburn traveled by bus to Mississippi State, and the Southeastern Conference (SEC) pushed that game's kickoff from noon ET to 4:15 p.m. ET so Auburn would have more time to reach Starkville. Purdue also took a bus from West Lafayette, Indiana, to play at Iowa.
Some games moved to a new day. No. 19 Mississippi's game at Oklahoma was shifted from Saturday to Sunday at 1 p.m. ET because of travel problems. Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny said the SEC threatened Oklahoma with a forfeit if it did not agree to the switch.
Other schedules were shuffled within the day. The Big 12 moved Kansas against West Virginia from 5:30 p.m. ET to 3:30 p.m. ET because Kansas had already arrived. Arizona State's flight to Florida was delayed, so the Big 12 moved its game against UCF from 2:30 p.m. ET to 5:30 p.m. ET.
Washington turned back to campus when its flight was grounded, then left late Friday for its game at Michigan State. That Saturday game was pushed back 75 minutes, to 5:30 p.m. ET. Baylor, Kansas State, Minnesota and Arizona State were also among the schools hit by the stop.
Referees were another worry. The Big Ten said all of its officials had arrived for their Saturday assignments.
For fans, the lesson is simple. A problem with air traffic control can reach a stadium hours later, in the form of a moved kickoff, a bus ride or a Sunday game nobody planned for.
