On Friday afternoon, the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for departing flights, citing a communications issue affecting air traffic control towers. There was no set timetable on when flights would resume.
This news has left some college football teams scrambling to either remain grounded at the airport or return to team facilities. Here’s the latest on travel delays across the country.
No word on if this will alter scheduled games on Saturday.
College football travel delays as a result of FAA ground stop
9:19 p.m.: Arizona State faces a difficult task to play UCF
ASU is scrambling to make its cross-country trek — 2,000 miles—to face UCF. The Sun Devils are now scheduled to fly out early Saturday morning, pending their flight crews’ availability, with the hope of getting out as early as possible. ASU coach Kenny Dillingham told @TheAthletic he expects the team to land in Orlando around noon ET and then be ready for the 3:30 p.m. kickoff. “I’ve coached high school games before where we’ve had four-hour bus rides, so let’s dance! “There’s really nothing you can do about it. It is what it is. And it’s not like they’re gonna count it as .75 in the loss column if you lose. If you make a big deal about it with your team, then it’s a big deal. I’m trying to make it as un-big of a deal as we can.”
— Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) November 14, 2026
9:15 p.m.: Baylor to going to BYU
The game in Provo is schedule for 3 p.m. ET. The Cougars can’t play on Sunday due to religious reasons.
9:06 p.m.: Colorado State headed to Washington State
Colorado State expects to get out tonight for the game at Washington State.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 14, 2026
9:02 p.m.: ESPN’s plan for the weekend
Source says ESPN/ABC is prepared to produce all the college football games on their schedule tomorrow and still working out specific details. Think others have noted this but Kirk Herbstreit is in Boise for College GameDay and assigned to Texas-LSU. So his travel would clearly be TBD right now but ESPN (as other networks do) will have announcers in place to work that game if needed. I don’t know who would fill in for Herbstreit. Big picture: Wishing everyone who has been impacted by this all the best and obviously the safest of journeys ahead.
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) November 14, 2026
8:55 p.m.: Tennessee to travel out Friday night to College Station, TX
The Vols are in the midst of making travel arrangements, sources say. As of now, Tennessee will face Texas A&M at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday
8:54 p.m.: Oregon State flying out tonight to Boise, ID
Oregon State officials say the team plans to fly to Boise tonight. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. The OSU players and staff are in buses and headed back to the airport.
8:52 p.m.: Flight tracker before the ground stop was lifted
NEW: Tracking College Football teams amid the FAA pausing all flights nationwide✈️ Live Updates: https://t.co/w6sXy89sqT
— On3 (@On3) November 13, 2026
8:46 p.m.: No. 2 Utah going to fly out Saturday
It’s likely Utah still flies out tomorrow morning. The team was already dismissed before the grounding was lifted.
— Josh Furlong (@Josh_Furlong) November 14, 2026
8:42 p.m.: The list of teams who have been impacted and who are already on the ground
CFB teams yet to takeoff:
Utah, Texas, Washington, Auburn, Tennessee. Baylor, Purdue, Minnesota, Tulane, Kansas State, Arizona State
CFB teams who have made it to their destinations:
Nebraska, Florida, Wake Forest, South Carolina, Michigan, Mizzou
8:40 p.m.: The Big 12 mulling options before Saturday
From the Big 12: “Due to the national FAA ground stop impacting team travel, the Big 12 Conference is evaluating potential changes to Saturday’s football schedule. The conference will continue to monitor the travel disruptions alongside its member institutions and provide updates for Saturday’s games.”
— Adam Rittenberg (@ESPNRittenberg) November 14, 2026
8:31 p.m.: The ground stop has ended, but now comes the scramble for teams to leave town
BREAKING: The nationwide ground stop is over, the Federal Aviation Administration has announced. Follow live updates: https://t.co/W800VsjH6V
— ABC News (@ABC) November 14, 2026
8:29 p.m.: The latest from ESPN’s Pete Thamel
Utah is also not flying out tonight, which means all four Big 12 teams will not be leaving tonight. Sources say that there’s been no game dates officially moved. There’s been discussions about moving game times, but nothing is set yet.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 14, 2026
8:27 p.m.: American Airlines has issued a statement to travelers with the following info
- While the FAA’s nationwide ground stop remains in place, some flights from certain airports are beginning to receive clearance to depart.
- Most departures remain paused, and we expect continued, possibly significant, disruption to our schedule, including unavoidable cancellations.
- Teams across American are ready to get you on your way as soon as additional flights are cleared to depart.
