The Federal Aviation Administration’s unprecedented decision to order a nationwide ground stop amid communications issues impacting air traffic control left millions of travelers in flux. The sports world was not exempt.

The ground stop, which was lifted after several hours Friday evening, marked the third time in U.S. aviation history that the skies went dark. Sports teams across the country were left scrambling by the command, which impacted not only players and coaches but also referees, broadcasters and production teams.

The Sporting News is tracking live updates as the sports world grapples with the FAA’s announcement ahead of a busy slate of games.

College football games impacted by FAA ground stop

Are there any college football games cancelled by FAA ground stop?

No. As of 8 a.m. ET Saturday, no college football games have been cancelled and the Week 11 schedule is expected to be played in full, albeit with several kickoff delays and postponements after schools endured travel headaches Friday night.

The following games have been rescheduled Saturday from their original kickoff times (new times are listed ET):

  • Kansas vs. West Virginia, 3:30 p.m.
  • Auburn vs. Mississippi State, 4:15 p.m.
  • Tulane vs. Rice, 4:30 p.m.
  • Arizona State vs. UCF, 5:30 p.m.
  • Washington vs. Michigan State, 5:30 p.m.
  • Baylor vs. BYU, 7 p.m.
  • FAU vs. Tulsa, 7:15 p.m.

Texas, Tennessee and Utah were among other notable schools forced to delay travel plans from Friday to Saturday morning. Their respective games are set to be played as scheduled at this time.

Oklahoma ‘threatened’ with forfeit after SEC postponement

Most significantly, the Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma game scheduled for Saturday in Norman will instead be played at 1 p.m. ET Sunday, the SEC announced overnight.

The SEC’s decision was not without controversy and prompted Sooners athletic director Roger Denny to issue a statement declaring a “strong objection” to playing on Sunday. Oklahoma agreed under threat of forfeit, he said.

“We recognize the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the ground stoppage and understand the challenges they created for teams across the country” Denny said in a statement. “As soon as we learned of Ole Miss’ travel issues, we immediately began communicating with their staff and our conference leadership. We were told that Ole Miss explored every avenue to travel to Norman and play on Saturday as planned. But, unlike every other team traveling for competition tomorrow, they were unable to find a solution.

“After multiple conversations with the league office, Commissioner Sankey informed us of his decision to move our game to Sunday, over our strong objection. After continued discussions, he further informed us that our failure to play on Sunday at the directed time would result in a forfeit.”

The TV broadcast for the game, originally scheduled for SEC Network, is still to be determined.

‘College GameDay’ to go on as scheduled

For those wondering, ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcast from Boise State is set to go on as scheduled. ESPN crews were already on location in Boise prior to Friday’s ground order.

Kirk Herbstreit is scheduled to call the Texas vs. LSU game in Baton Rogue later Saturday. With a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff, it’s unclear at this time if he will face travel complications following the GameDay broadcast.

Colorado State’s tarmac walkthrough

One of the more bizarre scenes that unfolded during Friday’s ground stop included the Colorado State football team holding a walkthrough on the runway at Northern Colorado Regional Airport before flying to Pullman for its game against Washington State.

Friday, Nov. 13

(All times Eastern)

5:30 p.m.: A host of college football teams saw their routes to Saturday’s games diverted due to the ground stop. While many of the nation’s top sides already made their pilgrimages to the destination of their choice, some — including No. 2 Utah, No. 6 Texas and No. 8 Tennessee — had to get creative when mapping their course to the games.

Among the teams whose flights were grounded were Auburn, Tulane, Baylor, Kansas State, Ole Miss, Auburn and Arizona State, per The Athletic’s Chris Vannini. Kansas State, Purdue, Washington and Minnesota were also impacted by the flight delays, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. All visiting ACC teams reached their destination before the shutdown went into effect.

Some teams opted to travel by bus to make it to their contests, including Alabama (traveling to Vanderbilt), Georgia Tech (headed to Clemson), Auburn (headed to Mississippi State) and Purdue (headed to Iowa), per Vannini.

Schools slated to take lengthier treks like the Bears (headed to BYU), the Wildcats (headed to TCU), the Huskies (headed to Michigan State) and the Sun Devils (headed to UCF) were left in unenviable positions heading into the night on Friday. Per Thamel, Arizona State plans to fly out to UCF on Saturday morning ahead of their 3:30 p.m. ET fixture.

There was also a question of how refereeing would be impacted by the shutdown; The Athletic’s Grace Raynor reported that conferences are working to figure out how to staff referees for Saturday’s slate of games.

College basketball teams impacted by FAA ground stop

Friday, Nov. 13

(All times Eastern)

5:30 p.m.: The most eye-catching of college basketball fixtures impacted by the stoppage is No. 1 South Carolina’s clash with No. 3 USC. The Trojans announced that they were unable to travel on Friday night as planned due to the ground stop. 

The match, set to be contested on Sunday, will be played at a semi-neutral site in Greenville, South Carolina. The game is set for a 1 p.m. tip-off on Sunday, giving USC a little cushion as it determines its travel plans. Nevertheless, the delay will change the way the Trojans prepare for the contest; they planned on holding a practice in Greenville on Saturday morning, per The Athletic’s Brian Hamilton.

NBA teams impacted by FAA ground stop

Friday, Nov. 13

(All times Eastern)

Like their collegiate counterparts, NBA teams, too, felt the wrath of the FAA ground stop. The Nets were scheduled to head home after staying an extra day in New Orleans following their 145-111 triumph over the Pelicans on Wednesday night. They were rendered immovable on the tarmac, unable to get in the air before the order went into effect. They’re due to play the Grizzlies — who are also located in New Orleans after playing them on Friday night — on Saturday night. A drive from New Orleans to Brooklyn takes upwards of 20 hours to complete, leaving the teams’ status for Saturday’s game uncertain.

The Cavaliers and Bulls were also scheduled to fly after Friday’s slate of games. They saw their travel plans rerouted due to the stoppage. League rules mandate that teams must leave for the city they’re slated to play in at least one day before the contest (except in back-to-backs).

NHL teams impacted by FAA ground stop

Friday, Nov. 13

(All times Eastern)

As of 5 p.m. ET on Friday, there were no reports of teams being stranded or delayed as a result of the FAA’s announcement. 10 of the 14 teams slated to travel for games on Saturday arrived to their destination prior to the stoppage. The Oilers were unimpeded on account that they traveled within Canada for their tilt against the Maple Leafs, while the Islanders — set to joust with the Ducks in Anaheim — were already in Southern California after traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Kings earlier in the week. The Kraken and the Hurricanes will meet in Finland, with both sides making their journeys to the Scandinavian nation earlier in the week.

The Sharks were set to travel to Utah on Friday night ahead of a matchup with the Mammoth on Saturday. At present, it’s unclear how San Jose’s travel plans were impacted by the outage.

The Rangers and Canucks met in Vancouver, while the Predators and Golden Knights met in Las Vegas. Vancouver is set to travel to Sin City for a game on Sunday while the Preds head to San Jose on the same day. The Rangers won’t return to the ice until Monday in New York.

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