SEC Moves Oklahoma-Ole Miss to Sunday After FAA Ground Stop, and OU's AD Says It Came Under Threat of Forfeit

By The Arena Staff

NORMAN, Okla., Nov. 14, 2026 — Oklahoma fans who planned their whole Saturday around a 3:15 p.m. kickoff against No. 19 Ole Miss will have to start over. The Southeastern Conference moved the game to Sunday at noon Central, and Oklahoma's athletic director made it clear the Sooners didn't agree to any of it.

The trouble started Friday afternoon, when the FAA halted flights across the country over a communications failure. The ground stop was lifted at about 7:15 p.m. Central, but Ole Miss said it still couldn't get a flight to Oklahoma, according to the university's announcement. The SEC announced the move just after midnight. A TV network for Sunday hasn't been named.

Roger Denny, OU's athletic director, said in a statement that Commissioner Greg Sankey made the call "over our strong objection." When Oklahoma kept pushing to play Saturday, Denny said, Sankey told the school that failing to play at the directed time Sunday "would result in a forfeit."

Denny noted that every other team traveling for a Saturday game had found a way to get there. He said the change puts "unnecessary disruption and hardship" on fans who had already booked travel and hotels, and that the decision "isn't fair to our athletes, our institution or to Sooner Nation." He said OU has no choice but to play, CBS Sports reported.

The game had been set for SEC Network on Saturday afternoon. USA TODAY reported that the SEC pointed to Ole Miss' travel problems from the ground stop as the reason for the change.

Oklahoma said it will share more on game-day logistics and what it called fan appreciation measures later Saturday. Fans holding tickets should watch for that update before making new plans.