FRISCO, Texas — Fresh off of capturing their eighth national championship in the last nine years, the North Dakota State football team found themselves stalled at Dallas Love airport on their return to Fargo.

After boarding the plane shortly before 7 p.m., the aircraft was unable to take off due to mechanical issues, according to NDSU Sports Information Director Ryan Perreault. Around 10 p.m., the team had been stuck in the airplane for close to three hours.

The plane carrying the James Madison football team back to Virginia will return to Dallas to give the Bison their ride back to Fargo, he said.

Ironically, there is a business called “Champions Management” adjacent to Love Field in Dallas, where @NDSUfootball is approaching a 3-hour delay after an aborted takeoff. JMU’s plane is returning for pickup and arrival in Fargo after 3 a.m. #FCSChampionship — Ryan Perreault (@ndsuryan) January 12, 2020

"We don't have an estimated departure time," Perreault said. "It'll depend what time the plane gets back in from Virginia after they drop off James Madison."

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Perreault added the airport hopes to get the three-time defending national champions back to Fargo by around 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

"We've got some food on the way, and I believe they've talked about bringing our buses back to the runway to get us off the plane for a bit," he said.

NDSU defeated James Madison with a thrilling 28-20 victory to claim the Football Championship Subdivision National Championship in Frisco Saturday at Toyota Stadium.