The mini-saga involving Ohio State athletics and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy took another turn Tuesday morning.
This summer, Fox Sports officially hired Portnoy to be part of its Big Noon Kickoff college football pregame show. On Monday, reports emerged from longtime Ohio State football beat writer Austin Ward and Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel indicating that Portnoy had been banned from Ohio Stadium for Big Noon Kickoff ahead of Saturday’s showdown between the Buckeyes and Texas.
“Portnoy will still appear on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, but not for the end of the show inside the stadium, a source said,” Glasspiegel wrote. “One source said Fox anticipated having issues with Portnoy and Ohio State and that the network’s original plan did not include him entering the stadium.”
A proud Michigan alum, Portnoy has never been shy about trolling his alma mater’s biggest rival over the years. As a result, many weren’t all that surprised to hear about the reported ban.
Except earlier this morning, Ohio State denied there was one at all.
Ohio State officially responds
If the OSU athletic department had anything to do with Portnoy not being fully present for Big Noon Kickoff, they clearly don’t want to take responsibility for it.
Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger Tuesday morning that the school did not issue a direct ban on the 48-year-old media mogul.
“Bjork confirms that FOX decided Portnoy would not be on the main desk of Big Noon Kickoff and those not on the desk do not normally appear on the field,” Dellenger tweeted. “These are Fox decisions, he emphasized.”
Ohio State did not issue a ban on Dave Portnoy, AD Ross Bjork tells @YahooSports. Bjork confirms that FOX decided Portnoy would not be on the main desk of Big Noon Kickoff and those not on the desk do not normally appear on the field. These are Fox decisions, he emphasized.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 26, 2025
The Big Ten has also issued a statement
In a subsequent tweet, Dellenger cited a Big Ten spokesperson saying that Portnoy will not be present on the Big Noon Kickoff main stage inside any Big Ten stadium during the 2025 season.
The Big Ten is FOX’s main college football draw, meaning the league is regularly featured on Big Noon Kickoff as the network’s game of the week. Ohio State will host BNK on more than one occasion in 2025, and Penn State, Michigan and other high-profile schools will likely do the same.
We’ll have to see if Portnoy truly will avoid the show’s main set throughout the year as the Big Ten is suggesting he will.
Ohio State-Texas is a massive Week 1 matchup
Saturday’s game at Ohio Stadium has it all. The Buckeyes are the defending national champions and ranked No. 2 in the Coaches Poll and No. 3 in the AP poll.
Texas, meanwhile, is the preseason No. 1 in both sets of rankings. The Longhorns will also officially be turning over their offensive reins to five-star quarterback Arch Manning, who has seen action as a reserve in each of the last two seasons.
Kickoff is set for noon ET on FOX.