Delaware State Misses Flight for 2024 CFB Opener vs. Hawai'i Due to Bus Issues

The Delaware State football team, which is set to open the 2024 season against Hawai'i on Saturday, missed a Tuesday flight to Honolulu because of a "bus snafu" to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Stephen Tsai reported for the Star Advertiser.

A spokesperson for Delaware State said the team was "working on a plan," per Tsai.

The flight to Hawai'i is slated to take 10.5 hours, Tsai reported. The two teams are currently scheduled to open the 2024 season at 5:59 p.m. local time, or 11:59 p.m. ET, on Saturday.

Delaware State head coach Lee Hull said on Monday that the team was leaving at 4 a.m. on Tuesday to make the flight at JFK, per Steven J. Gaither of HBCU Gameday.

According to Gaither, Hull said on Monday that the team had faced some "issues" preparing for the almost 5,000-mile round trip between Dover and Honolulu.

"Today people coming in—'Oh we got an issue here, we got an issue there. What are we doing here?'" Hull said, per Gaither. "You know, so that last-minute stuff that that comes up because of the long flight. You know we got to drive to JFK, which is three hours away. And then we got a direct flight, which is another 10.5 hours. So yeah, but we're looking forward to it."

Delaware State was added to the Rainbow Warriors schedule after Hawai'i and Oregon agreed in December to reschedule their planned season opener following Oregon's move to the Big Ten.

The Hornets received a "lucrative payment" to cover travel costs in exchange for agreeing to the season-opening matchup, Kevin Tresolini reported for the Delaware News Journal.

Delaware State is looking to bounce back after a 1-10 campaign despite a difficult schedule to start the 2024 season.

The Hornets were already slated to have less than a week to recover from the six-hour time change in Hawai'i before taking on their second road game of the season, an Aug. 31 tilt against Sacred Heart. The team isn't set to play at home until Sept. 14 against visiting Wagner.

Now that schedule has been made more challenging, with Delaware State set to have fewer days to beat jet lag before opening the 2024 season.