Fox Sports has removed Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports from its “Big Noon Kickoff” college football pregame show, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported Saturday morning — and Portnoy is blaming Ohio State head coach Ryan Day for the split.
Portnoy debuted on the program in Week 1 of the 2025 season in Columbus for the Texas-Ohio State game, part of a wider deal between Fox and Barstool Sports, and had been a mainstay ever since, appearing in all four episodes so far this season. Just before Marchand’s report, Portnoy took to social media insisting Day complained to the Big Ten and threatened Fox. “Ohio State and Ryan Day bitched and moaned to the Big 10 and threatened Fox…” Portnoy posted.
Marchand said he spoke with Portnoy before publishing and that the story would be updated. Neither Fox nor Ohio State had publicly detailed the reasons for the split as of Saturday morning. The move ends a high-profile, and often combative, partnership just over a year after it began.
The timing adds another subplot to a massive Saturday for the Buckeyes, who visit No. 14 Iowa at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in Iowa City for the first time in 20 years.
