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The newly minted Fox-Barstool college football partnership already has some drama even before the first game.
Ohio State is barring Barstool Sports from campus and its founder, Dave Portnoy, from entering Ohio Stadium for the school’s huge opening-week matchup against Texas on Saturday, sources told Front Office Sports.
Portnoy will still appear on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, but not for the end of the show inside the stadium, a source said.
The Barstool College Football Show, which on a number of occasions will lead into Big Noon, will no longer run as Barstool previously planned, a source said. In announcing the partnership, Fox said the Barstool show will be on the road with Big Noon for “select” dates.
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.
Former Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter said on his Columbus radio show Monday that there were a lot of folks from his alma mater who are “not all that happy about [Portnoy] being hired” at Fox, and cohost Austin Ward added that Portnoy is “not welcome inside the Horseshoe.”
Portnoy is a Michigan grad and has been a persistent troll of Ohio State and head coach Ryan Day, ratcheting up his remarks over the last several years amid the Wolverines’ winning streak over the Buckeyes.
Portnoy also joined Oracle founder Larry Ellison, his partner and Michigan grad Keren Zhu, and Tom Brady in wooing five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood to Ann Arbor.
The story of Portnoy’s ban devolved into a public back-and-forth Tuesday.
Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told a reporter there was no ban, and an Ohio State representative told FOS in a statement, “FOX representatives informed the department that the only talent who would be inside Ohio Stadium for the last hour of the show would be their main set/desk talent team. … They informed us that David Portnoy is not part of their ‘main desk’ crew. Ohio State did not ban anyone from our stadium.”
Portnoy quickly responded in a video. “I wasn’t going to say anything… I’m trying to be a good partner, we’re just starting this thing with Fox,” he said. “They banned me from coming into their stadium. They banned our [Barstool’s] show from coming to campus. I feel bad because Fox is in the middle of it.”
A spokesperson for the Big Ten told FOS, “It is the Big Ten Conference’s understanding from FOX that Dave Portnoy will not appear on Big Noon Kickoff’s main stage inside the stadium of any Big Ten Conference school this year.”
FOS reached out to every Big Ten school and asked if they were aware of whether Fox intends to bring Portnoy into their stadium as part of their broadcast, as well as whether they would allow Portnoy in. Penn State referred FOS to the Big Ten. Oregon referred FOS to Fox. Iowa said they had not heard anything from Fox.
A representative for Michigan, where Portnoy went to school, told FOS, “We have not banned a reporter/analyst/personality from reporting at Michigan Stadium. I have also not had any discussions with FOX regarding the Big Noon Kickoff show; I’m certain those conversations will take place once they identify a game to attend this fall.”
Other schools did not immediately respond.
A spokesperson for Fox Sports declined to comment.
The predicament with Ohio State figures to be a recurring one as the school usually hosts multiple Big Noon games a year.
—Amanda Christovich contributed additional reporting.
