The Ole Miss football program is finalizing plans to travel to Oklahoma for its matchup against the Sooners after a nationwide flight disruption.
On Friday, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights in the U.S. due to communications problems at regional air traffic control centers. The disruption occurred a mere three days after the FAA rolled out its new AI-supported air traffic system to improve flight path and scheduling coordination.
With flights being grounded, college football programs across the country were left in limbo on travel plans, and Ole Miss has been in the mix of those looking to rework its agenda. The team’s plane was grounded in Tupelo. Rebel players were instructed to go home and report back to the Manning Center on campus at 8:30 p.m.
Before the team had to report back, the FAA alerted airports nationwide that flights could once again take place. Ole Miss, by that point, had decided not to take the team to Norman on Friday. At this time, the team is expected to fly out on Saturday at a time yet to be determined.
The Southeastern Conference announced just after midnight on Friday that the game between the No. 19 Rebels and Sooners will be moved to Sunday at noon CT. It was originally scheduled for Saturday at 3:15 p.m.
“The Ole Miss football team was unable to depart Oxford Friday night due to the FAA ground stoppage,” the SEC said in a statement. “After the stoppage was lifted, a late-night departure could not be accommodated by the charter company with which Ole Miss was contracted and the team’s departure has been delayed until Saturday afternoon.”
Mississippi State, which was originally set to host Auburn on Saturday at 11 a.m. CT, will still play Saturday but kickoff has been bumped to 3:15 p.m. Auburn had been planning to fly to Starkville but changed its plans and took a bus Friday.
Other Mississippi schools not affected
Other Division I programs in Mississippi not affected by the FAA’s grounding of all flights are Southern Miss, Jackson State, and Alcorn State. All three schools face opponents within driving distance on Saturday. The Golden Eagles face Louisiana Tech in Ruston at 4 p.m. CT. The Tigers play Alabama State in Montgomery at 2 p.m. CT. The Braves take on Southern in Baton Rouge at 2 p.m. CT.
Mississippi Valley State is scheduled to play Florida A&M in Tallahassee at 2 p.m. CT. SuperTalk Mississippi News reached out to MVSU Athletics to see if the flight delays had disrupted the team’s travel, but did not hear back by the time of publication. The drive from Itta Bena to Tallahassee is over 8 hours long.