Ground stop scrambles travel plans for sports teams across the US

Some professional and college sports teams were stuck on runways, or opting to pile into buses, before games this weekend that are now uncertain due to the US nationwide ground stop that was lifted on the night of Nov 13.

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at a news conference on Nov 13 that the ground stop was caused by technology upgrades “overwhelming” the flight communication system.

Thousands of flights have been cancelled, but no high-profile games have been affected so far, in what is set to be a busy weekend in sports.

Dozens of teams had made it out of airports just before the stop. But the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets were not so lucky.

The Athletic reported that the Nets were stuck on a team plane on Nov 13. They have a game on Nov 14, at night, against the Memphis Grizzles.

Also stuck at an airport was the University of Texas Longhorns football team, slated to play Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Nov 14, at night.

Minutes before the stoppage, the Longhorns posted a video of players boarding a plane with the caption “Bayou bound”.

Both teams are in the Southeastern Conference, which said in a statement that it would work “to determine whether any adjustments to scheduled competitions become necessary”.

On the night of Nov 13, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters that he encouraged college football teams to coordinate their flights with the Federal Aviation Administration “to make sure we have games going off tomorrow”.

While some teams, including the Longhorns, headed home from the airport to wait out the delay, a handful of others opted to travel the old-fashioned way – by bus.

The Athletic reported that among the longest drives was a 330-mile ride for the Purdue University Boilermakers, who are playing the University of Iowa Hawkeyes on the night of Nov 14.

The University of Southern California women’s basketball team said it was grounded in Los Angeles before a marquee game on Nov 15 against the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, but was preparing to travel Saturday.

In men’s college basketball, a Nov 14 game between University of North Carolina Greensboro and Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, was postponed because of the ground stop.

NFL teams typically travel on Saturday for Sunday games.

Five teams told The Athletic that their travel plans were not affected.

According to The Athletic, the stakes of the ground stop may be most significant for the National Women’s Soccer League, which is scheduled to hold its semifinals this weekend.

The stop affected the Kansas City Current’s flight to New York City before their game against Gotham FC on Sunday. The Utah Royals, playing the Washington Spirit on Nov 14, travelled before the stoppage.

The NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers had planned to catch a flight home after their game on the night of Nov 13 in Miami. Kenny Atkinson, the Cavaliers head coach, told reporters before the game that he did not know if the team would make their flight.

“I think we’re scrambling to find hotel rooms in case,” Atkinson said. “If not, we’ll sleep on the bus,” he added.