FAA ground stop sends NBA, NHL and college teams scrambling ahead of weekend

The Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to ground all flights nationwide for several hours on Friday threw the US sports world into disarray, leaving NBA, NHL and college teams scrambling to reach their destinations in time for a packed weekend of games.

Transportation officials cited “extraordinary circumstances” caused by communications issues at regional air traffic control centers for the stoppage. Some teams were left searching for hotel rooms, others rescheduled flights, leagues adjusted start times and several college football programs took the unusual step of chartering buses rather than waiting for the ground stop to end.

“We’re going to allow for general aviation, those larger movements, to take place as a priority. Smaller movements will take lower priority,” the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said after the ground stop was lifted on Friday night in Washington.

No 19 Mississippi’s football game at Oklahoma was moved from Saturday to Sunday at 1pm ET because of travel issues. Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny criticized the decision, saying the Southeastern Conference had threatened Oklahoma with a forfeit if it did not agree to the change.

“I understand that difficult decisions sometimes must be made under extraordinary circumstances,” Denny said in a statement on X. “Put simply, this decision isn’t fair to our athletes, our institution or to Sooner nation.”

Most college football teams playing on Saturday travel the day before their game, and the stoppage left several schools – including No 2 Utah, No 8 Texas and No 9 Tennessee – at a standstill as they prepared to depart for road games. The Utes visit No 22 Arizona, the Longhorns travel to No 24 LSU and the Volunteers face Texas A&M in three of the weekend’s biggest matchups.

“The Southeastern Conference is aware of the FAA’s nationwide ground stop and the potential impact on team travel,” the league said. “The safety and well-being of student-athletes, coaches and team personnel remain our highest priority.”

Texas and Tennessee both returned to their campuses during the stoppage. Once it was lifted following more than four hours of uncertainty, the schools began making plans to fly out as soon as possible, allowing them to arrive before game day.

Auburn opted to take a bus to Mississippi State, with the SEC pushing back Saturday’s kickoff from noon ET to 4.15pm to give the Tigers more time to reach Starkville. Purdue likewise decided to travel by bus from West Lafayette, Indiana, for their game at Iowa.

Other schools affected by the stoppage included Baylor, Washington, Kansas State, Minnesota and Arizona State.

The Big 12 moved the Kansas-West Virginia game from 5.30pm ET to 3.30pm because the Jayhawks had arrived in plenty of time. That allowed the conference to push the Arizona State-UCF game from 2.30pm to 5.30pm, giving the Sun Devils an additional three hours after their flight from Arizona to Florida was delayed.

Washington spokesman Kurt Svoboda said the Huskies returned to campus when their flight was grounded, but officials remained in contact with their airline partners and the flight crew stayed in place. Washington eventually departed late on Friday for their game at Michigan State on Saturday, which was pushed back 75 minutes to 5.30pm ET.

There were also concerns about whether referees, who typically fly to their assignments the day before games, would be able to reach their destinations. The Big Ten said all of its officials had arrived for their scheduled assignments on Saturday.

Several teams managed to depart before the stoppage began, including all those traveling in the Atlantic Coast Conference; Missouri, who were flying to top-ranked Georgia; Duke, who were visiting fifth-ranked Miami; and No 10 Texas Tech, who posted images on social media of their arrival for a game at Oklahoma State.

NFL teams playing on Sunday typically travel the day before their games and were expected to fly as planned on Saturday.

In the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers played in Miami on Friday night but were forced to postpone their return flight until Saturday morning, leaving them scheduled to land about eight hours before their home game against the Dallas Mavericks.

NBA teams rarely fly on the day of a game, although exceptional circumstances, often involving severe weather, have occasionally forced such arrangements.

At least two other NBA teams had Friday night flights pushed back to Saturday morning, although neither were scheduled to play that evening. Cleveland, meanwhile, scrambled to rebook hotel rooms in Miami after checking out earlier on Friday.

“It’s part of it. You just adapt,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.

The NHL has 14 games scheduled for Saturday, with the Florida Panthers among the majority of teams who reached their destinations before the stoppage began. The San Jose Sharks, who were left waiting to see whether they would be able to travel, eventually arrived in Utah late on Friday.

In women’s college basketball, JuJu Watkins and her third-ranked Southern California teammates were attempting to reach South Carolina for Sunday’s marquee matchup against the top-ranked Gamecocks.

The Trojans had just boarded their flight at Los Angeles International Airport when the ground stop was issued. After an extended wait, passengers were told to disembark and the team returned to the Galen Center.

The disruption also reached soccer. The Utah Royals were already in the Washington DC area ahead of Saturday’s National Women’s Soccer League semi-final against the Washington Spirit, but the Kansas City Current were scheduled to depart on Friday for their semi-final against Gotham FC in New York on Sunday. Team officials were uncertain when their flight would be cleared to leave.

The US men’s national team’s match against Haiti on Saturday in Miami was unaffected. Both teams and match officials had already arrived for the first leg of their two-match Concacaf Nations League quarter-final.