National | Education
The Federal Aviation Administration’s nationwide ground stop Friday disrupted college football travel and forced schedule changes for several Saturday games. The FAA said Saturday that airport operations were returning to normal, though delays and cancellations were expected to continue through the day.
Flight Disruptions Reach Game Schedules
Thousands of flights were canceled after the FAA issued the ground stop. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged that the aviation disruption had affected college football, saying some games were being moved.
No. 2 Utah’s game against Arizona in Tucson was pushed back three hours, with kickoff scheduled for 8:30 p.m. local time. Auburn’s game against Mississippi State was delayed by more than four hours, moving its start to 3:15 p.m. local time.
Florida Atlantic was unable to travel to Oklahoma on Friday. Its game against Tulsa was moved from 2:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. local time.
Oklahoma Game Moved to Sunday
No. 19 Ole Miss also could not fly to Oklahoma on Friday. The Ole Miss-Oklahoma game was rescheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
The University of Oklahoma announced fan-appreciation promotions for the rescheduled game. Students may attend without charge by presenting a student ID, and the school reduced prices on selected concessions, including $2 popcorn and 16-ounce beer offerings.
Professional Teams Largely Unaffected
NFL teams were largely unaffected by the ground stop, while the college schedule absorbed several of the most visible travel-related changes. The FAA said Saturday that airports were moving back toward normal operations, but cautioned that flight disruptions would continue through the day.