What a day it has been for the Arizona State Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils (5-4, 3-3 Big 12) are playing the UCF Knights on Saturday in Orlando Florida.
The one problem?
Arizona State is currently unable to fly due to a rare FAA-sanctioned ground stop. ASU typically leaves on Friday afternoon for road games, which came directly into conflict with this situation.
This leaves head coach Kenny Dillingham and other top decision makers with a tricky situation to navigate.
Arizona State Makes Decision on Friday Night Approach
Chris Karpman (Sun Devil Source) reports on Friday night that Arizona State is heading back to campus due to the circumstances.
There wasn’t many other choices to make here, as staying at Phoenix Sky Harbor for upwards of 16 hours wouldn’t make practical sense.
The current plan is for the team to depart at 6:00 A.M. AZT Saturday morning. There will be an approximately 4.5 hour long flight that should land in Orlando in the early afternoon, which would only spare the team roughly two hours prior to the 3:30 EST kickoff.
This places Arizona State in quite the predicament over the next 12 hours as more information comes to light.
How This May Impact Sun Devils
Right off the bat, Arizona State is facing their team routine being thrown out of balance. The team typically travels the day before road games, making a Saturday travel day atypical.
Is there any chance that the team will feel negative impact from this situation? It’s certainly possible, especially when keeping in mind that this team is heavily youth-laden.
Despite this, Dillingham seems to know exactly how to navigate difficult scenarios. Stay tuned for more updates, including potential changes to kickoff time and more clarity on the grounding of flights.
Arizona State Takes Bold Approach to Unprecedented Travel Issues