UNLV's football team arrived in Albuquerque on Friday evening after a nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop forced a lengthy delay to its charter flight, the university's athletics department confirmed. The Rebels are still scheduled to face No. 23 New Mexico on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Pacific time.
The team had gathered at a private terminal at Harry Reid International Airport for a 2:30 p.m. departure but was placed on standby. After roughly an hour without updates, players and staff returned to the campus football facility, according to Bea Martinez, host of FOX5's "Reb Zone Sports Show," who travels with the team.
"We don’t know if or when we will head to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We don’t even know if there will be a game tomorrow," Martinez said during the delay.
The ground stop, which lasted more than four hours, stranded numerous college teams across the country, including Utah, Texas, Tennessee, Auburn and Purdue. Several programs returned to campus or arranged alternate travel, such as Auburn busing to Mississippi State and Purdue busing to Iowa.
Once the stop was lifted, UNLV boarded its flight and posted visuals of the departure on social media. The Rebels reached Albuquerque in time to maintain the original kickoff against the Lobos.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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