Oklahoma coaching legend Bob Stoops is not happy with SEC commissioner Greg Sankey and the league's decision to move Saturday's Ole Miss-Oklahoma game to Sunday afternoon following the Rebels' request after flight restrictions this week. Hours after Sooners athletic director Roger Denny blasted the conference's move, Stoops took to social media to voice his displeasure.
When Oklahoma attempted to keep the game Saturday, Sankey told the school that failing to play at the directed time would result in a forfeit. No. 19 Ole Miss will now play the Sooners in Norman, Oklahoma, on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
"This decision by Greg Sankey is absolutely wrong," Stoops wrote Saturday on social media. "All of the Power 4 teams found a way to make it to their games, but Ole Miss wouldn't? ASU is flying across country to UCF this AM to play today. 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!!"
According to CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello, Ole Miss administrators couldn't secure a charter flight from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Oklahoma City after the ground stop, and the earliest they could book another flight was Saturday at 4:20 p.m., a team spokesperson said.
Issues for several SEC teams and others within the FBS began Friday afternoon, when air travel across the country paused following the Federal Aviation Administration issuance of a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports shortly before 3 p.m. CT.
Communication problems hit multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers, facilities that manage high-altitude traffic between airports. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed switches and routers that became overloaded and shut down after they began producing inconsistent data, as previously noted by CBS Sports.
Rather than make the 500-plus mile trip by bus to Norman, the Rebels waited on the team's earliest available flight on Saturday.
Denny said the Sooners "strongly objected" to the Rebels' request to move the game to Sunday afternoon.
"Put simply, this decision isn't fair to our athletes, our institution or to Sooner Nation," Denny said in a statement released early Saturday. "But we've been given no other choice. We are obligated to play the game when directed, but we remain steadfast in our belief that the wrong outcome was reached this evening."
Stoops retired at Oklahoma in 2017 after 18 seasons as one of the school's all-time best. Stoops left Oklahoma with a 190-48 record (101-9 at home), 10 conference titles in the Big 12 and a national crown after winning 2001 BCS Championship Game. He is the Sooners' all-time winningest coach.
Stoops was a six-time Big 12 Coach of the Year and two-time national coach of the year.
