Dave Portnoy

Introduction

Dave Portnoy is the founder of Barstool Sports, the brash digital media company he built into one of the loudest brands in sports culture, and a University of Michigan alum and donor whose move into mainstream broadcasting made him one of the most visible — and most polarizing — figures in sports entertainment. On October 2, 2026, The Athletic reported and Portnoy himself confirmed that he and Barstool personalities will no longer appear on “Big Noon Kickoff,” Fox Sports’ Saturday college football pregame show, ending an on-air run of just over a year. Within hours, Portnoy blamed the exit on Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day in an expletive-laden series of posts on X, turning a programming shakeup into the sport’s loudest storyline of the weekend.

Background Information

Portnoy and other Barstool personalities joined Fox Sports’ college football coverage — anchored to the network’s Big Ten partnership — in 2025, appearing on “Big Noon Kickoff” for just over a year before the removal. A Michigan alum and booster, Portnoy drew repeated flak for appearing at Ohio State home games, and reports last season indicated he had been banned from entering Ohio Stadium — a claim the university officially denied. The broader Barstool–Fox relationship also extended beyond Saturdays, with the FS1 weekday morning show “Wake Up Barstool” airing daily.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Business exit, not misconduct. Portnoy’s removal from “Big Noon Kickoff” was an editorial programming decision by Fox Sports, not a response to any allegation of personal misconduct, and no investigation or charge is involved. Nothing in this section accuses him of a crime or professional wrongdoing. The dispute concerns the fit between Barstool’s style and Fox’s Big Ten programming, and Portnoy disputes the reported framing outright.

The removal was first reported on October 2, 2026 by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, who cited sources briefed on the decision; Portnoy confirmed the news and told USA Today he had not seen The Athletic’s article and was not called for a quote before it published. Sources briefed on the decision said there was not one specific reason for the move beyond what USA Today described as “the constant challenge” of uniting Fox’s more traditional programming with Barstool’s edgy persona. The New York Post reported that the primary factors came down to challenges tying together traditional Fox programming and Barstool’s brand, given the network’s partnership with the Big Ten.

Portnoy offered a blunter account. In a post on X on Friday evening, October 2, he wrote: “Ohio State and Ryan Day bitched 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 s–t even I didn’t realize he was this soft.” He added: “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 p——s like Cryin Ryan.” Neither Fox Sports, the Big Ten nor Ohio State publicly confirmed Portnoy’s account of pressure on the network.

Public Reaction and Consequences

The posts lit up college football social media within minutes, with Portnoy appending a crying-laughing emoji and the hashtag #GoBlue to his message, and the story became the dominant media narrative heading into Week 5 of the season. USA Today characterized the removal as the apparent end of Fox’s experiment adding Portnoy and Barstool to the pregame show. The principal consequence is concrete: Barstool will no longer appear on “Big Noon Kickoff” ahead of Saturday college football games, and Portnoy’s year-long run as a network pregame analyst is over. At the same time, outlets were careful to note the removal is not a full breakup — The Athletic reported the wider Barstool–Fox Sports partnership is not over, with “Wake Up Barstool” still airing weekdays on FS1. Portnoy’s framing put Ryan Day and Ohio State at the center of the story, an accusation neither the coach nor the school had publicly responded to in the immediate coverage.

Current Status

As of October 2–3, 2026, Portnoy is off “Big Noon Kickoff” heading into the show’s Week 5 edition, with no replacement lineup announced. His Barstool College Football show continues under Barstool’s own banner, per his own posts, and “Wake Up Barstool” remains on the air on FS1, meaning the company’s relationship with Fox Sports continues in reduced form. Fox has not issued a detailed public statement explaining the decision, and Portnoy said he was not contacted for comment before The Athletic’s report. Whether Portnoy appears on any future Fox college football property — and whether he follows through on a return to Columbus — remains to be seen.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The exit strips Portnoy of his most prominent mainstream television platform just over a year after Barstool’s return to network sports coverage, a notable reversal for a creator whose brand is built on refusing institutional constraints. His independent output — Barstool’s college football show and his social channels — continues uninterrupted, and the removal instantly fed the loyal audience that made him valuable to Fox in the first place. The public feud with Ryan Day now shadows the Michigan–Ohio State rivalry, and Portnoy’s account of a conference-side pressure campaign — unverified by the network — has become the story’s defining claim.

Sources

• New York Post, “Fox takes Dave Portnoy, Barstool off ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ college football show: ‘I don’t blame them,’” Oct. 2, 2026. source
• USA Today, “Dave Portnoy out at ‘Big Noon Kickoff,’ blames Ryan Day for Fox exit,” Oct. 2, 2026. source
• Daily Mail, “Dave Portnoy blames Ohio State coach Ryan Day as Barstool Sports gets pulled from Fox’s ‘Big Noon Kickoff,’” Oct. 2, 2026. source