Michigan superfan and founder of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy, is beginning his first season as a part of FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff. For Week 1, that means a trip to Columbus, Ohio, as the No. 3 Buckeyes are set to host No. 1 Texas at the Horseshoe.
Only Portnoy, reportedly, won’t be allowed inside the stadium. Now, it’s just a matter of sorting out who is responsible. Initially, it was reported by Front Office Sports that Ohio State banned Portnoy from entering Ohio Stadium, but Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork is deflecting the blame.
Bjork told Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports that Ohio State did not issue a ban, and that, in fact, it is FOX that is keeping outside. Portnoy is not on the desk for Big Noon Kickoff, so it seems that plan was never for him to enter the stadium.
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
Furthermore, Dellenger confirmed that Portnoy will not be entering any Big Ten stadiums this season, at least not as a member of the Big Noon Kickoff main stage.
A Big Ten spokesperson tells @YahooSports that it is the league’s understanding from Fox that Dave Portnoy will not appear on Big Noon Kickoff’s main stage inside the stadium of any conference school this year. https://t.co/qODvfqfFaA
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 26, 2025
While Michigan fans were all too happy to pile on Ohio State for being soft, and rightfully so if they did indeed ban Portnoy from entering the stadium, it appears that everyone was fooled. It appears likely that this was an orchestrated PR stunt by FOX to drum up attention for their kickoff show, especially going head-to-head with Lee Corso’s final College Gameday on ESPN Saturday morning.
That theory is just speculation, but it makes sense that FOX would attempt to drum up fervor over the greatest rivalry in college football to promote their show, especially with Ohio State and Texas playing at Noon on FOX, while ESPN’s main crew will be heading to Death Valley (the one in South Carolina) for LSU and Clemson.
Portnoy’s involvement with Big Noon Kickoff was always going to be controversial, and that’s exactly what FOX wants. This is just a taste of what will almost certainly be a yearlong circus building towards the final week of the season when Ohio State and Michigan finally meet. By then, even Michigan fans might be tired of Portnoy’s antics, but FOX seems willing to take that risk.