Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny has strongly criticized the Southeastern Conference (SEC) after the league unexpectedly postponed the Sooners’ game against Ole Miss.
The scheduling dispute followed Friday’s nationwide ground stop, which left the No. 19 Rebels unable to depart Oxford in time for their scheduled Saturday matchup.
Denny said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey moved the game to 1 p.m. Sunday despite Oklahoma’s “strong objection.”
In a lengthy statement, Denny said: “We recognize the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the ground stoppage and understand the challenges it created for teams across the country. As soon as we learned of Ole Miss’ travel issues, we immediately began communicating with their staff and our conference leadership.
“We were told that Ole Miss explored every possible 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.
“After multiple conversations with the league office, Commissioner Sankey informed us of his decision to move our game to Sunday, over our strong objection.
Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny has sharply criticized the SEC after the conference postponed its game against Ole Miss
A nationwide ground stop on Friday prevented the No. 19 Rebels from leaving Oxford in time for Saturday’s game
“After further discussions, he told us that failing to play on Sunday at the designated time would result in a forfeit.
“Moving the game has a significant impact, particularly on our fans. Supporters who arranged travel, accommodations and personal plans around a Saturday kickoff now face unnecessary disruption and hardship.
“Their time, commitment and investment deserved greater consideration than they received in the conference’s decision tonight.
“I understand that extraordinary circumstances can require difficult decisions. But those decisions must also account for the effect on everyone involved.
“Simply put, this decision is not fair to our athletes, our institution or Sooner Nation. However, we have been left with no alternative. We are obligated to play the game when directed, but we remain convinced that the wrong outcome was reached this evening.”
The SEC said it made the decision after Ole Miss could not arrange a late-night flight with its charter company, delaying the team’s arrival in Norman.
The weekend’s college football schedule was thrown into disarray after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted takeoffs at airports across the country.
On Friday afternoon, the agency issued a ground stop for every flight that had not yet taken off across US airspace, citing communication errors.
An FAA ground stop at airports across the United States has disrupted the college football schedule
Denny said Commissioner Sankey moved the game to Sunday “over our strong objection”
The stoppage triggered delays and cancellations affecting thousands of domestic and international flights in the United States.
Reports from The Athletic and ESPN’s Pete Thamel said 15 Football Bowl Subdivision programs had been affected and were still waiting to depart for road games.
The list included four teams ranked in the top 25: No. 2 Utah, No. 6 Texas, No. 8 Tennessee and No. 19 Mississippi.
Other affected Power Four programs included Arizona State, Baylor, Auburn, Kansas State, Purdue, Washington and Minnesota. Non-Power Four teams caught up in the disruption included Tulane, Oregon State, Wyoming and North Texas.