The Utah Utes football team is grounded in Salt Lake City after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declared a nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy posted on X.com that the FAA "issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them."
The Utes have yet to leave Salt Lake City, according to KSL.com's Josh Furlong. As of Friday afternoon, Utah also isn't entertaining the possibility of busing over 12 hours from Salt Lake City to Tucson, per Furlong.
Utah is one of several college football teams enduring travel issues, along with Texas, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arizona State, Baylor, Auburn, Tulane, Kansas State, Purdue, Washington, Minnesota and Oregon State, according to The Athletic.
People are also reading…
Fox's "Big Noon Kickoff" team is in Tucson. Fox's college football preview airs live from the UA mall at 8 a.m., with Rob Gronkowski's pregame party starting at 6:30 p.m.
No. 23 Arizona (7-2) faces No. 2 Utah (9-0) at Casino Del Sol Stadium Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on Fox.
The Star will continue to have updates on Utah's travel saga.
Contact Justin Spears, the Star's Arizona football beat reporter, at jspears@tucson.com. On X(Twitter): @JustinESports
Justin Spears
Sports Reporter
