A nationwide grounding of all flights could leave plans for ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Saturday up in the air.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced on Friday that the Federal Aviation Administration was issuing a ground stop for all flights across the United States. Those already in flight continued to their destination, but no new flights would take off for an unspecified period.
The order has thrown the sports world into chaos, with several college football teams scheduled to travel for games on Saturday and no clarity on whether they would be able to take to the air.
“College GameDay” Could Be Impacted by FAA Decision
As The Athletic’s Grace Raynor reported late on Friday, there were several major college football teams with unclear travel plans after the FAA announced a nationwide grounding of all flights.
“Many of the nation’s top college football teams had already arrived at their respective destinations for Saturday games before the stoppage, although No. 2 Utah, No. 6 Texas, No. 8 Tennessee, No. 19 Ole Miss, Arizona State, Baylor, Auburn, Tulane, Kansas State, Purdue, Washington, Minnesota and Oregon State were all affected as of late Friday afternoon, according to program sources and public updates from the schools,” Raynor wrote. “Those sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak publicly.”
The list of teams unable to travel included the visiting team for “College GameDay,” Raynor added.
“Oregon State is scheduled to play Boise State on Saturday afternoon in Idaho, where ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ is set to broadcast its show,” Raynor wrote. “The Longhorns are Louisiana-bound for a showdown with College Football Playoff implications between Arch Manning and Lane Kiffin’s Tigers in Manning’s home state. Utah is scheduled to play a top-25 game with Big 12 title implications at No. 22 Arizona.”
Oregon State Could Make New Travel Plans
As OregonLive.com reported, Oregon State had prepared to travel late on Friday, but did not take off before the FAA ordered a ground stop.
“Oregon State is among the college football teams impacted by the nationwide ground stop of departing flights,” the report noted. “The Beavers were scheduled to fly to Idaho at 3:20 p.m. PT.”
The report added that Oregon State was looking into other travel plans, which could include a bus trip.
“OSU is exploring all options for getting to Boise,” the report added.
Other major college football teams have already made the decision to bus to nearby destinations.
“Alabama reportedly took a bus to Nashville, where the Crimson Tide are scheduled to play Vanderbilt, and wasn’t alone in hitting the road,” Raynor reported. “Auburn (at Mississippi State), Purdue (at Iowa) and North Texas (at UTSA) all optd to take buses to their games, too.”
ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ in Jeopardy for Boise State Visit After FAA Ground Stop