FAA Ground Stop Pushes BYU-Baylor Kickoff to 5 p.m. and Shuffles Saturday in Provo

BYU's home football game against Baylor is still on for Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, but it now kicks off at 5 p.m. MST instead of 1:30 p.m. A nationwide FAA ground stop on Friday afternoon kept Baylor's team from leaving Waco, Texas, and BYU Athletics announced the new time Friday night. The game stays on FOX. The change set off a chain reaction on campus: BYU women's basketball against New Mexico now tips at 1 p.m., and volleyball against Texas Tech now starts at 2 p.m.

"Due to the national FAA ground stop, tomorrow's game against Baylor will now kick at 5pm MT (7pm ET) on FOX," BYU said in its announcement, as quoted by the Deseret News. BYU Athletics' news release says the Big 12 Conference made the change together with BYU and Baylor.

What happened Friday

The FAA halted departures at airports across the country Friday afternoon, Nov. 13. CNBC reported the ground stop began at about 4 p.m. Eastern time and that the FAA canceled it at 8:15 p.m. Eastern, after more than four hours. KSL Sports put the Utah times at 1:54 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. MST.

The FAA described a "temporary telecommunications outage" affecting "multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers," according to CNBC. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said telecommunications routers were overloaded with data and "went down." Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said it did not appear to be a cyberattack and that it "appears this was mechanically driven." CNBC reported that more than 10,000 flights were disrupted and that delays and cancellations were expected to carry into the weekend, "if not longer."

The Associated Press story carried by the Daily Herald said the stoppage stranded teams across college football, the NBA and the NHL. Utah and Baylor were among the schools caught on the ground.

Why the game moved instead of Sunday

According to the Deseret News, Baylor "has yet to leave Waco and will now fly to Provo early Saturday morning." KSL Sports reported that the Bears could not fly out on their original United Airlines charter and, citing Grayson Grundhoefer of Sic 'em 365, were expected to fly Saturday at 9:30 a.m. Central time. The later kickoff gives the visitors time to land, get to Provo and settle in.

A Sunday game was never on the table. ESPN's Pete Thamel, who first reported the new time, wrote that "BYU can't play on Sunday because of religious restrictions," as quoted by ClutchPoints on Yahoo Sports.

The stakes have not changed. BYU is 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the Big 12, and Baylor is 6-3 and 4-2, KSL Sports reports. Our preview of the matchup and Baylor's interim coach covers the records, the playoff math and how Baylor has played since its coaching change. That preview was written when kickoff was 1:30 p.m., so use the times in this article.

The rest of Saturday on campus

BYU Athletics also moved two other home events on Saturday.

Women's basketball. BYU hosts New Mexico at 1 p.m. in the Marriott Center, streaming on ESPN+. BYU Athletics' preview lists the Cougars at 4-0 and says it is the first meeting between the programs since 2011. Radio is on BYU Radio 107.9 and byuradio.org.

Volleyball. BYU hosts Texas Tech at 2 p.m. in the Smith Fieldhouse, also on ESPN+. The Cougars come home after their first Big 12 loss of the season, a 3-1 defeat at Baylor on Thursday that we covered in our volleyball recap. That story listed the match at 6 p.m., the time in place before Friday's change.

Fans who planned to catch volleyball after football, or the other way around, should note that the two now run in the opposite order. The basketball and volleyball start times are an hour apart, so seeing both in full is unlikely.

Women's soccer final: no change announced

BYU women's soccer plays Baylor for the Big 12 Tournament title on Saturday at 6 p.m. MT at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium in Mansfield, Texas, on ESPN+, according to BYU Athletics' preview. That match is not in Provo, and BYU's Friday announcement about the moved times did not mention soccer. The team was already in Mansfield, where it beat Colorado on penalty kicks Wednesday. Our semifinal story has the details.

The practical issue for local fans is overlap. With football now at 5 p.m., the soccer final will start about an hour into the football game. Anyone hoping to follow both will need a second screen. Check byucougars.com before 6 p.m. in case the conference adjusts anything late.

Weather for a later kickoff

The later start may work in fans' favor. The National Weather Service forecast for Provo, issued late Friday night, called for rain before 5 p.m. Saturday, with a high near 47, a 100 percent chance of rain during the day and a quarter to half an inch of new rainfall. The hourly forecast showed the rain chance dropping to about 20 percent by 2 p.m. and about 7 percent at 5 p.m., with temperatures around 45 degrees at kickoff. The Saturday night forecast called for partly cloudy skies and a low around 37.

Lots and tailgate areas may be wet from the morning rain even if it clears by kickoff, and the forecast low Saturday night is in the 30s, so bring layers. Check the forecast again before you leave, since it can change.

If you have tickets or plans

Tickets. The game is on the same day at the same stadium, so tickets are for the same event. BYU's announcement did not include ticket instructions, and we found no refund or exchange notice. If the new time does not work for you, contact the BYU ticket office or check your account through byutickets.evenue.net, the ticket link on BYU's schedule page. Our BYU football tickets guide explains how the ticket system works.

Parking and gates. BYU has not published new parking or gate times that we could find. Confirm lot and gate times on BYU's official parking page at les.byucougars.com before heading out. Our BYU football parking guide lists the lots, the UVX bus option and traffic tips. For the bag rule and the stadium itself, see the LaVell Edwards Stadium guide.

Plans around the game. A 5 p.m. kickoff on FOX means the game will end in the evening, not mid-afternoon. If you booked dinner after the game or made a restaurant reservation to watch it, call ahead to adjust. Our list of places to watch sports in Provo is a starting point. The Baylor game-week guide has more on the weekend, but its timing advice assumed the earlier kickoff.

Radio. KSL Sports says the game will be on KSL NewsRadio, 102.7 FM, with an extended pregame show starting at noon. BYU's schedule also lists BYUradio.

Utah and other Utah teams

Utah's football team was grounded too. FOX 13 reported that the Utes' Friday flight to Tucson was canceled and the team returned to campus. Utah's game at Arizona now kicks off at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, which KUTV reported as 10:30 p.m. Eastern. FOX 13 said both the Utah and BYU games will still air on FOX 13.

FOX 13 also reported that Utah State had not set travel plans for its Saturday night game at San Diego State, that Weber State could not fly to Flagstaff for its game at Northern Arizona, and that Utah men's basketball's game against Washington moved from Saturday to noon Sunday. KUTV reported that the San Jose Sharks, due to play the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center on Saturday at 7 p.m., were still in San Jose with no departure time set. Check each team's official site for updates.

Provo Airport travelers

The ground stop reached Provo too. The Daily Herald reported Friday that it affected 13 flights scheduled to depart from or arrive at Provo Airport. Of six departures scheduled after 2 p.m., three were canceled and three were tentatively delayed, according to the airport's flight status updates. Of seven arrivals due at 5 p.m. or later, four were delayed and three were listed as on time.

Airport director Brian Torgersen told the Daily Herald the status board was probably not accurate, because it depends on airlines updating their flight information. He said the airport was "monitoring the situation and trying to accommodate as best as possible."

If you are flying out of Provo this weekend, check your flight with the airline directly rather than relying on the airport board, since CNBC reported cancellations could continue into the weekend. Our guide to flying from Provo Airport covers parking and security timing, and our terminal expansion report covers what is being built there.

What we could not confirm

We could not read Baylor Athletics' own announcement of the new time. BYU's schedule and announcement, the Deseret News and KSL Sports all give 5 p.m. MST, which is 6 p.m. Central. We saw a KSL headline saying BYU has ruled out a key defensive starter, but we could not read the full report, so we are not naming a player. Check BYU's official availability report before kickoff. We did not find new gate or parking times, ticket refund guidance or an original start time for the women's basketball game. Baylor's flight time comes from a single report cited by KSL Sports.

Related

• BYU hosts Baylor Saturday: the original preview
• BYU vs. Baylor game-week guide
• BYU football parking
• BYU football tickets guide
• BYU women's soccer beats Colorado, plays Baylor for the Big 12 title
• BYU volleyball falls 3-1 at Baylor
• BYU basketball game day guide
• Flying from Provo Airport