SALT LAKE CITY — Kickoff times for Saturday’s football games involving Utah and BYU were pushed back due to the nationwide ground shutdown that delayed hundreds of flights Friday.
Utah’s road game against Arizona will now begin at 8:30 p.m. The team has been grounded and is currently staying in Salt Lake City ahead of Saturday’s game against Arizona.
The Utes eventually returned to the Eccles Football Center on campus after their flight to Tucson was canceled. Players were seen leaving the premises shortly after 6 p.m.
BYU announced via social media that the game will now start at 5 p.m. at LaVell Edwards Stadium. Kickoff was originally scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
Baylor, like many other teams, was grounded due to the FAA order and was unable to leave Waco. The team announced earlier today that it would travel to Utah on Saturday morning.
The Utah and BYU games will still be broadcast on FOX 13.
Salt Lake City passengers wait for nationwide ground stop to be lifted:
Salt Lake City passengers wait for nationwide ground shutdown to be lifted
Earlier today, the Big 12 Conference shared a statement acknowledging the delays and what is being done to play scheduled games.
“Due to the FAA National Ground Shutdown impacting team travel, the Big 12 Conference is evaluating potential changes to Saturday’s football schedule,” the conference wrote. “The Conference will continue to monitor travel disruptions alongside its member institutions and provide updates for Saturday’s games.”
Utah State is scheduled to play on the road at San Diego State on Saturday night, but has also been grounded and the team’s future plans have not yet been finalized.
Weber State assistant athletic director Paul Grua posted on social media that the Wildcats football team was grounded and unable to travel to Flagstaff, where they are scheduled to face Northern Arizona at 2 p.m.
Due to travel impacts, Utah’s men’s basketball game against Washington, originally scheduled for Saturday, was moved to Sunday at noon.
Stay with fox13now.com and FOX 13 News for the latest on this breaking news story.
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