MARION, IL (WGNO) — The Nicholls State University football team was left stranded for nearly 24 hours in Marion, Illinois following the FCS playoff opener against Southern Illinois on Saturday.
Friday morning, the team flew into Cape Girardeau Regional Airport in Missouri.
The Colonels saw the 2023 season come to an end with a 35-0 loss to the Salukis.
When it comes to road games, Nicholls typically handles its own travel arrangements, but because it was a playoff game, the NCAA was in charge of travel.
Following their game, Nicholls’ group of 140 people arrived at Veterans Airport in Marion, Illinois around 6:15 p.m. on Saturday for an 8 p.m. Eastern Airlines flight. That’s when the madness began.
“A pilot went off the runway while making a turn. I guess that’s a big deal. So, they drug-tested him, and the drug test takes 12 hours. So, we had no pilot. We had a plane and no pilot. From that moment on, we got on the phone with Short’s Travel, who is the official travel company of the NCAA. Then we got on the phone with my commissioner, president, just trying to get through it. But all of this is happening because there was supposed to be a plane at 1:30, to come and pick us up. That plane, they canceled without telling us,” said Nicholls State University Director of Athletics Jonathan Terrell.
Terrell says the 1:30 a.m. flight was canceled because of weather concerns, leaving the group of 140 confined to a small area in Veterans Airport.
They couldn’t find hotels because no local spot could accommodate that large of a group on short notice and they had no transportation to travel outside of Marion.
Terrell said local hotels only had 20 to 30 rooms available. A party that large would require at least 50.
While waiting for the flights, Nicholls received water from the airport and ordered pizza around 8 p.m.
After learning of their flight cancellation, they ran out of food and water a few hours later.
Southern Illinois’ athletics department brought snacks, water and Gatorade to the team earlier in the morning, and the NCAA was able to provide some food for breakfast and lunch.
“I think our biggest frustration is we [did not have] much communication last night, and you can imagine the aggravation of not knowing. I didn’t want to walk in and tell the student-athletes, ‘Hey, we’re planning on leaving at 1:30,’ which I did. And then the next one was, ‘Get comfortable; we’re going to be here all night.’ Then you know, the next question is ‘When do you think we’re leaving?’ Well, I don’t have an answer because they don’t have an answer. So I think that was probably the most frustrating part, but other than that, I think, you know, I think we got what we need right now. We just want to get home,” said Terrell.
At last check, the Colonels boarded a flight home at 6 p.m., marking the end of a near 24-hour debacle in Illinois.
They arrived safely at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport at 8 p.m.
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