Talking from experience, taking a bus is not fun. I would much rather fly. 8-9 hours on a bus is uncomfortable and after a game, painful. As a college athlete who always took busses, I would have much rather have flown, even over a 3 hour drive.
The biggest issue is the time change but most of these athletes have played all over the country with their travel youth and AAU teams. Players miss several days of school in a row for the various sports. I have seen middle school hockey kids miss an entire week flying to tournaments. I have had students go to China for an international soccer tournament. This student was in 8th grade at the time.
Is it ideal? Absolutely not but these athletes know what they are signing up for when they play collegiate sports. Most of them are quite used to it. The great thing for the parents is they don’t have to pay for the sports.