When the Federal Aviation Administration halted all flights nationwide for several hours on Friday, sports teams from coast to coast were forced to improvise. College football programs, NBA clubs, women’s basketball squads and even NHL franchises scrambled to get players, coaches and equipment to their games.
College football adjusts schedules
Most college football teams travel the day before a Saturday kickoff, so the FAA stoppage hit at a critical moment. The No. 2 Utah Utes’ trip to No. 22 Arizona was pushed back three hours, as was Arizona State’s flight to Central Florida. Some programs, such as Auburn, opted for charter buses to bypass the air‑travel shutdown. The only major outlier was the No. 19 Mississippi State game at Oklahoma, which now competes with an NFL matchup and will start at 1 p.m. EST on Sunday.
NBA and NBA G‑League find workarounds
The Cleveland Cavaliers managed to fly from Miami to Cleveland early Saturday, allowing the team to face the Dallas Mavericks as scheduled. However, star guard Donovan Mitchell said he would have preferred a postponement, noting the “back‑to‑back, three‑hour flight” was already a tough travel load. The Cavs ultimately listed Mitchell, James Harden, Peyton Watson and Jarrett Allen as questionable, and all four sat out the game.
In the G‑League, the Sioux Falls Skyforce used a fleet of SUVs to travel from Chicago to Cleveland after flights proved unavailable. The Skyforce defeated the Cleveland Charge 148‑142, with Lester Quinones scoring 41 points and Vladislav Goldin adding 31.
Women’s basketball and soccer teams delayed
Southern California’s women’s basketball team, led by junior guard JuJu Watkins, was deplaned in Los Angeles and forced to stay overnight before departing for Greenville on Saturday afternoon. Fairleigh Dickinson’s coach Stephanie Gaitley learned late Friday that her flight to Ohio State was canceled; she chose to let her players rest before a 10‑hour bus ride on Saturday.
In the National Women’s Soccer League, the Utah Royals were already in the Washington, D.C., area for their semifinal against the Washington Spirit. The Kansas City Current, scheduled to travel to New York for a semifinal against Gotham FC, announced they were “collaborating with key stakeholders, including the NWSL and our charter partner, to identify next steps in order to arrive safely.”
NHL largely unaffected
Fourteen NHL games were slated for Saturday, and most teams arrived before the flight stoppage began. The San Jose Sharks, which had been waiting for clearance, finally reached Utah late Friday.
Officials also reshuffled
The FAA interruption impacted officials as well. NFL referee Don Willard will work two games on Sunday, traveling 112 miles between the Dolphins‑Colts contest and the Steelers‑Bengals matchup. The NBA added Brian Forte to the Chicago‑Minnesota officiating crew and replaced Jason Goldenberg, while Jenna Schroeder stepped in for the Dallas‑Cleveland game. Additional referees were reassigned for the Denver‑New Orleans and Brooklyn‑Memphis contests.
Local teams adapt and move forward
Despite the chaos, most teams found a solution and returned to competition. The quick adjustments demonstrate the resilience of athletes, coaches and support staff when faced with unexpected federal disruptions.
Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.
