The SEC moved the Ole Miss-Oklahoma game from Saturday afternoon to Sunday at 1 p.m. ET following a nationwide FAA ground stop that disrupted the Rebels’ travel plans.
A nationwide flight ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday grounded U.S. airports and disrupted sports schedules across the country. While most teams adjusted kickoff times to travel on Saturday, the travel complications forced the SEC to move the matchup between No. 14 Ole Miss and Oklahoma all the way to Sunday at 1 p.m.
The FAA ground stop began due to communication problems at air route traffic control centers, according to CBS Sports. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy pointed to overloaded switches and routers that produced inconsistent data. The FAA lifted the order at 7:15 p.m. CT, but the delay left Ole Miss unable to depart Oxford, Mississippi, on Friday night.
Paul Finebaum issued some strong words on Oklahoma AD Roger Denny: "What he did here was against the code of the SEC. "To call out a commissioner during a national crisis and emergency. "He's thinking about himself and his fan base. "I think he's dead wrong." pic.twitter.com/NUBNhAxcLa
Sooners Leadership Objects to Schedule Change
“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,” said Roger Denny, Oklahoma athletic director, in a statement published by Fox News.
“The Ole Miss football team was unable to depart Oxford Friday night due to the FAA ground stoppage,” the SEC said in a statement, explaining that once the FAA lifted the stoppage, the charter company contracted by Ole Miss could not accommodate a late-night departure. That pushed the team’s travel window to Saturday afternoon, according to NBC Sports.
GAME TIME & NETWORK ADJUSTMENTS: Following Friday’s FAA ground stop, Ole Miss at Oklahoma has moved to Sunday, affecting the following: 🏈 @OleMissFB at @OU_Football – Sun., 1 pm ET, @SECNetwork ⚽ SEC Championship: @TexasSoccer vs. @GamecockWSoccer – now 4:30 pm ET,… pic.twitter.com/GRBMvYdPGu
“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,” Denny told CBS Sports.
Former Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops criticized the conference’s handling of the situation on social media. “This decision by Greg Sankey is absolutely wrong,” Stoops wrote, according to FOX Sports.
BREAKING: The nationwide ground stop that brought all air travel to a halt across the country has been lifted, according to the FAA.https://t.co/FhE8xQXhqL https://t.co/yXuzo81BGr pic.twitter.com/aGW5BuEcZz
Fan Impact and Game Logistics
The shift places the SEC contest directly into the window of the NFL Sunday slate at 1 p.m. ET. Oklahoma athletic leadership highlighted the disruption caused to supporters who purchased tickets and booked travel around the original Saturday window, according to Yahoo Sports.
“Rescheduling the game has a significant impact, particularly on our fans,” Denny said, as reported by New York Post. “Those who have made travel arrangements, accommodations, and personal plans around a Saturday game now face unnecessary disruption and hardship.”
Kick time is Noon CT Sunday. Ole Miss can’t depart Oxford until after 4 pm Saturday due to charter/pilot issues and time expirations. https://t.co/QNrtvihZym
Ole Miss relies on Tupelo, Mississippi, for its flights, which is a 55-minute drive from Oxford, followed by a roughly 90-minute flight to Oklahoma City.
Following the ground stop, Ole Miss administrators were unable to secure a charter flight from Tupelo to Oklahoma City, with the earliest available booking scheduled for Saturday at 4:20 p.m., as reported by a team spokesperson. The nationwide ground stop caused more than 15,000 flights in the United States to be delayed or canceled, with nearly 3,000 flights scheduled for Saturday also impacted.
Conference adjustments affected 14 games across the FBS and FCS levels, with various kickoff times altered to accommodate travel schedules. While the Ole Miss and Oklahoma game was pushed to Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, other matchups proceeded on Saturday with adjusted times. ET to 5:30 p.m. ET.
ET to 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2 because Kansas had already arrived in West Virginia prior to the ground stoppage. Meanwhile, the Utah Utes were also unable to travel on Friday and scheduled a Saturday morning flight to Tucson, allowing their game to be played on Saturday just three hours later than originally planned.
OU is still staying at its team hotel in Norman tonight. Players were told to go to bed and prepare as if the game will be played at 3:15 p.m. CT tomorrow. Though, there is some skepticism that will actually happen at this point.
Ole Miss travels to Oklahoma with the team sitting at No. 19 in the College Football Playoff rankings and holding a 6-3 record. The Rebels are looking to bounce back following a 42-7 home loss to Georgia.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma enters the contest with a 5-4 overall record and a 4-4 mark in conference play, having recently defeated Florida 23-7 in the first game with Jason Witten serving as interim offensive coordinator. The Sooners need one more victory to achieve bowl eligibility for the season.
pic.twitter.com/6z039iPC1m
The scheduling dispute unfolded on Friday night as Oklahoma officials and team members spent hours waiting for clarity while staying at their team hotel in Norman.
The Sooners went to bed Friday night not knowing when they would play, and players were instructed to prepare as if the game would kick off at 3:15 p.m. CT on Saturday. Ultimately, the conference issued the final directive ordering the teams to take the field on Sunday or face a forfeit.
GAME UPDATE: The @OleMissFB at @OU_Football game has been moved to Sunday, Nov. 15 at 1 PM ET / Noon CT due to travel issues related to Friday’s nationwide FAA ground stoppage. Television network is TBA.#SECFB pic.twitter.com/2B63eTmoTA
More on Ole Miss
New date. New kickoff time. Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma now scheduled for Noon CT on Sunday, Nov. 15. pic.twitter.com/kROezXtT89
Oklahoma and Ole Miss will play on Sunday. It will be held at 1 EST. Oklahoma AD Roger Denny released a lengthy statement and said the game was moved despite "our strong objection." He added: "Put simply, this decision isn't fair to our athletes, our institution, or to Sooner…
Roger Denny when I asked if OU's relationship with the SEC is hurt because of this: "I don’t know. They’ll probably send their carnival barker out there to accuse me of pandering again. And candidly, I don’t care. My job and my duty is to our players, our university, and our fan…
COLUMN: Ole Miss is under fire after the FAA ground stop moved its game at Oklahoma to Sunday. Our @ParksBurcham says the Rebels have to shut out the noise and execute, because this one is a must win. Kickoff is noon CT Sunday on SEC Network.https://t.co/HF4vXBJbFS