Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports are leaving Fox Sports’ Big Noon Kickoff after a tenure of just over a year. The network and the media personality parted ways ahead of Week 5 as blending traditional broadcasting with Barstool proved difficult.
Andrew Marchand Reports The End of the Fox and Barstool Partnership
Sources briefed on the decision indicated that there was no singular catalyst for the sudden change other than the constant challenge of attempting to unite Fox Sports’ more traditional show with the persona Barstool Sports brings to the table, finding it unsustainable in the long run. Fox Sports declined to comment on the change in the network’s Saturday morning pregame show.
Fox announced in July 2025 that it had agreed to a partnership deal with Barstool Sports. The agreement placed Portnoy alongside the regular desk team of Rob Stone, Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart, Mark Ingram, and Urban Meyer, while also creating Wake-Up Barstool, a Barstool daily sports talk show that airs on Fox Sports 1 from 8 to 10 a.m. ET. While the Saturday pregame appearances are finished, Wake-Up Barstool is not expected to be impacted by the Big Noon Kickoff shakeup and continues to air daily on weekdays.
Dave Portnoy Blames Ohio State Head Coach Ryan Day For The Exit
Portnoy went on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday night to sum up his side of the story, noting that he had not seen Marchand’s article and did not receive a call for a quote.
“Ohio State and Ryan Day [expletive] and moaned to the Big 10 and threatened Fox till they had no choice. Juice wasn’t worth the squeeze and frankly I don’t blame them. Huge dollars at stake and you have Cryin Ryan throwing temper tantrums and making threats. Every few days on something I said. I always knew Ryan Day was soft but holy [expletive] even I didn’t realize he was this soft.”
Dave Portnoy, Barstool Sports founder
Sources speaking to The Athletic maintained that network friction stemmed from the constant challenge of trying to unite Fox Sports’ more traditional show with Barstool’s persona.
What Remains Next For Barstool College Football Coverage
Big Noon Kickoff is set to kick off at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday, Oct. 3 from the University of Minnesota ahead of the Golden Gophers’ Big Ten home opener against Michigan. Portnoy insists that digital coverage will persist independently.
“The Barstool College Football will continue on. Maybe we’ll even see you in Columbus where contrary to popular belief most fans love the rivalry and aren’t [expletive] like Cryin Ryan.”
Dave Portnoy, Barstool Sports founder
Ohio State officials have not publicly addressed the specific claims regarding executive pressure or threats made to network leadership.
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