Auburn’s Cam Newtown (2) carries the ball as Oregon’s Kenny Rowe defends during the first half of the BCS championship. Auburn won, 22-19, on Monday in Glendale, Ariz.

Glendale, Ariz. ? Wintry weather in Alabama left some Auburn fans with tickets to the BCS championship game out in the cold back home, while others scrambled for alternative routes or endured delays.

Charter flights out of Birmingham Airport were able to take off by midday. On campus, both classes and the viewing party scheduled at Auburn Arena were canceled.

Tigers fan James Harrison made it to Arizona from Charlotte, N.C., but hadn’t been able to reach friends trying to get there.

“I know people who were sleeping in the airport at Birmingham,” Harrison said. “Who knows if they made it or not?”

Ratings game: Television ratings for the BCS in its first year of a new contract that puts all the games on ESPN have been down for most of the games compared to last year.

Burke Magnus, ESPN senior vice president for college sports programming, said he’s not concerned with a one-year dip.

“I take solace from the fact that the numbers that we put up this year, you don’t have to go very far back in the history of the BCS to find equivalent games that we’ve beaten,” he said.

Alum captains: Bo Jackson and Ahmad Rashad were the honorary captains for the BCS title game.