Barstool Sports chief Dave Portnoy is set to make his highly-anticipated TV debut on Fox Sports’ college football programing this weekend.
Portnoy was scheduled to feature on Fox’s ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ for the opening clash between Texas and Ohio State during the first week of the college football season on Saturday.
Nevertheless, the 48-year-old’s collaboration with the network has encountered a significant obstacle even before the new season has begun. Specifically, Portnoy might not be permitted to enter the stadium.
Portnoy, known for being a vocal Michigan alumnus—a fierce rival of Ohio State—has reportedly been prohibited from accessing the school’s stadium, known as The Horseshoe.
While Portnoy is not welcome inside the stadium, Barstool Sports had been barred from campus altogether, according to Front Office Sports.
Portnoy will reportedly still appear on ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ but not for the end of the show inside the stadium.
Dave Portnoy is set to make his debut on Fox’s ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ this weekend
The Barstool Sports chief has reportedly been banned from Ohio State’s stadium
Daily Mail Sport has reached out to Ohio State’s athletic department and football team for comment.
The Barstool College Football Show, which Fox indicated would occasionally accompany the Big Noon Kickoff on the road, will no longer proceed this weekend as initially planned, according to the report.
Portnoy officially confirmed his partnership with Fox Sports in an ’emergency press conference’ last month.
‘Which conference has dominated college football year after year? National Champion after National Champion?’ Portnoy questioned in a video uploaded to X.
‘The answer: the Big Ten. And which network excels at covering the Big Ten? Fox Sports, with ‘Big Noon Kickoff.’ Which school has historically ruled the Big Ten more than any other? The answer is the Michigan Wolverines.’
‘Well, that ends today, friends. Barstool Sports, myself, we are joining ‘Big Noon Kickoff.’ The days of kicking Michigan when we’re not around is over.’
He let a few more details slip on ‘The Unnamed Show’ with cohosts Ryan Whitney and Kirk Minihane, noting that it’s a ‘wide-ranging partnership.’
‘We’re going to partner with Big Noon Kickoff… I’m going to be on it every week,’ he said, noting that Barstool Sports’ college football show will remain as a lead-in on the website — though Barstool personalities will be incorporated into ‘Kickoff.’
The 48-year-old is a renowned fan of Michigan – Ohio State’s bitter rivals
‘We are going to do an 8-10 daily show on Fox Sports 1. It will be like a ‘Barstool Breakfast Show’ [or] ‘Barstool Wake up,’ Portnoy said. ‘I’m going to do Mondays, we’ll have an office in Chicago. They want a taste of the Barstool world, really.’
As one of Michigan’s most outspoken graduates, Portnoy is a renowned fan of the Wolverines and has frequently taken shots at the Buckeyes and their head coach Ryan Day.
And his comments have reportedly ruffled feathers with Fox executives said to have already been concerned over his appearance in Columbus amid the two schools’ fierce rivalry.
Last season, tensions spilled over after Michigan beat Ohio State for the fourth straight time in November.
After the 13-10 Michigan win over the No. 2 Buckeyes, a group of Wolverines players planted their school flag on the field – considered a major sign of disrespect in college football – and Ohio State players physically confronted them.
Several players could be seen attacking each other at midfield, with punches being thrown before things briefly died down.
However, Michigan’s Derrick Moore then re-stoked tensions by planting a Michigan flag on the turf once again.
Ohio State’s Jack Sawyer responded by ripping the flag, and more violence ensued between the two sides.
Violence erupted after Michigan’s shock win over rivals Ohio State last season
Davison Igbinosun of the Ohio State Buckeyes grabs a Michigan flag following his team’s defeat
Furthermore, Fox Sports footage showed two Michigan players had seemingly been pepper sprayed during the chaos.
Barstool previously collaborated with ESPN to create show ‘Barstool Van Talk’ in 2017 with Katz and PFT Commenter, also known as Eric Sollenberger.
However, the show was unceremoniously cancelled after just one episode, amid the resurfacing of a 2014 audio recording in which Portnoy and Katz denigrated then-ESPN host Sam Ponder.
Portnoy called Ponder a ‘f***ing sl**,’ and the host called out her coworkers when the short-lived Barstool-ESPN deal was eventually announced.
