Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny is breaking rank with the SEC.
Denny ripped the conference’s decision to postpone the Sooners’ schedule home clash against Ole Miss from 4 p.m. Saturday to 1 p.m. Sunday that stemmed from Friday’s nationwide ground stop.
The Rebels cannot leave Oxford, Miss., until after 4 p.m. ET Saturday due to “charter/pilot issues and time expirations,” according to Yahoo.
“After multiple conversations with the league office, Commissioner [Greg] Sankey informed us of his decision to move our game to Sunday, over our strong objection,” Denny wrote in a statement he posted to X early Saturday morning. “After continued discussions, he further informed us that our failure to play on Sunday at the directed time would result in a forfeit.”
He added: “I understand that difficult decisions sometimes must be made under extraordinary circumstances. But those decisions must also consider the impact on everyone involved. Put simply, this decision isn’t fair to our athletes, our institution, or to Sooner Nation. We’ve been given no other choice. We are obligated to play this game when directed, but we remained steadfast in our belief that the wrong outcome was reached this evening.”
The SEC said it made the decision Friday to move the game after Ole Miss could not leave Oxford on Friday night due to ground stoppage.
The Rebels could not work out a late-night flight with their charter company, which postponed their travel to Saturday, when the teams had been slated to meet at 4:15 p.m.
Denny said that while “we recognize the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the ground stoppage and understanding the challenge it created for teams across the country,” Oklahoma communicated with Ole Miss and SEC folks once they learned of the travel problems.
It certainly seemed he potentially took a dig at Ole Miss by including a line in his statement that singled out the program.
“But, unlike every other team traveling for competition tomorrow, they were unable to find a solution,” he wrote.
Denny stressed in his statement that moving the game doesn’t only affect the players but “particularly” the team’s fans, stating those traveling to the game at Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., now face “unnecessary disruption and hardship.”
“Their time, commitment, and investment deserve greater consideration than they were afforded in the conference’s decision tonight,” Denny wrote.
Both Oklahoma and Mississippi do not have professional football teams for the college teams to contend with Sunday, and the clash will barely affect the College Football Playoff rankings.
Oklahoma is all but eliminated due to its 5-4 record, while No. 19 Ole Miss seems a massive long shot to crack the field of 12 due to its 6-3 mark.
As the SEC moved this game back one day, the league also delayed Saturday’s Auburn-Mississippi State game from noon to 4:15 p.m.
