Weekend game travel uncertainty: FAA ground stop puts college football, basketball plans in limbo

Flights halted Friday afternoon

The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights nationwide at around 4:15 p.m. Eastern time Friday. The agency cited communication problems at regional air traffic control centers and said the pause was imposed for safety reasons.

The stop came on a typically busy travel day for college football teams, many of which fly on Fridays before Saturday games. The Associated Press reported that officials had not given a timeline for restarting flights.

Professional teams could also face delays. NFL teams scheduled to travel Saturday for Sunday games might be affected if the disruption continued.

College teams face delays

Many college teams reached their destinations, but media reports and social media posts described travel problems for several programs. The Athletic reported that more than a dozen teams were affected by late Friday afternoon, including No. 2 Utah, No. 6 Texas and No. 8 Tennessee.

Washington’s team waited in buses for a flight to Michigan State, Fox 13 Seattle reported. Colorado State was grounded before its trip to Washington State, while Kansas State had not yet departed for TCU, according to local reports.

UNLV could not board its charter flight to play New Mexico. Mississippi was grounded before traveling to Oklahoma, and Auburn switched to a bus trip to Starkville after its flight to Mississippi State was halted.

Basketball travel also disrupted

Five NBA teams were set to fly Friday for Saturday games, the Associated Press reported. The Brooklyn Nets’ flight to Memphis stopped in New Orleans, where the team had played the Pelicans earlier in the week.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, Chicago Bulls and Memphis Grizzlies were among the teams expected to fly Friday night after playing that evening, according to the AP. No. 3 Southern California had not left for its Sunday game against top-ranked South Carolina in Greenville, S.C. Trojans coach Lindsay Gottlieb told The Athletic about the team’s travel status.