NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — The Southeastern Conference has announced that No. 19 Mississippi's game at Oklahoma will be delayed a full day to Sunday in the aftermath of the FAA's deicision to ground all flights.
The SEC said the Ole Miss football team was unable to leave Oxford on Friday night.
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“After the stoppage was lifted, a late-night departure could not be accommodated by the charter company with which Ole Miss was contracted,” the SEC said. The Rebels (6-3) will now leave for Oklahoma (5-4) on Saturday afternoon.
The game originally scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Eastern will now kick off at 1 p.m. Eastern on Sunday.
Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny ripped the decision, which he said was made by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey over the Sooners’ “strong objection.” He said the SEC threatened Oklahoma with a forfeit if it did not agree to Sunday’s move.
“We were told that Ole Miss explored every avenue to travel to Norman and play on Saturday as planned,” Denny posted on X. “But unlike every other team traveling for competition tomorrow, they were unable to find a solution.”
He said the change would cause “unnecessary disruption and hardship” for fans.
“I understand that difficult decisions sometimes must be made under extraordinary circumstances,” Denny wrote. “Put simply, this decision isn’t fair to our athletes, our institution or to Sooner nation. But we’ve been given no other choice. ... we remain steadfast in our belief that the wrong outcome was reached this evening.”
Former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops also criticized the decision.
“This decision by Greg Sankey is absolutely wrong,” Stoops said in a statement posted on X. “All of the power 4 teams found a way to make it to their games, but Ole Miss wouldn’t ... Greg Sankey instead of telling OU they would forfeit if they didn’t change the day, he could have told Ole Miss they will forfeit if they didn’t find a way to Norman even if game is delayed. But instead he didn’t!!”
