FAA ground stop delaying CSU football ahead of Washington State game

PULLMAN, Wash. — The Colorado State football team did not get off the ground to head to Washington before the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop on Nov. 13.The Rams were scheduled to fly the afternoon of Nov. 13 to the Pacific Northwest ahead of a game Nov. 14 at Washington State in Pullman but are on hold in Northern Colorado right now.The FAA directive instructs all departing aircraft to remain on the ground until further notice, according to USA TODAY reporting.Earlier in the week, CSU coach Jim Mora excitedly talked about the benefit of the team finally getting to fly out of Northern Colorado Regional Airport (FNL) for the first time this season."One of the things that's really exciting about this week is we get to fly out of FNL," Mora said on Nov. 11. "We don't have to drive drive an hour and 15 minutes down to DIA, even though we love that airport as well. Just the wear and tear on the players and getting back a little bit earlier is a big deal to us."It's uncertain when CSU will be able to get in the air. The Rams face Washington State at 8:30 p.m. Mountain (7:30 p.m. Pacific in Pullman) on Nov. 14.Impact on other CSU sportsCSU's other teams had better luck with the ground stop than the football team.The cross country team is in Albuquerque for NCAA regionals, with race day on Nov. 13. CSU's women's basketball team hosts Wyoming at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at Moby Arena, so no flights are required for either team.The men's basketball team hosts Loyola-Chicago at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 14 at Moby Arena. Loyola-Chicago played at Air Force earlier in the week and stayed in Colorado and has been practicing in Fort Collins, so there is no flight impact ahead of that game.CSU's volleyball team plays at San Diego State on Nov. 14, but the Rams flew before the ground stop.Sports reporter Kevin Lytle can be found on social media on X, Instagram and Threads @Kevin_Lytle and on Bluesky.This article originally appeared on Fort Collins Coloradoan: FAA ground stop delaying CSU football ahead of Washington State game