Barstool Sports will no longer appear on FOX Sports' "Big Noon Kickoff" following complaints from Ohio State University and head coach Ryan Day. CEO Dave Portnoy confirmed the split on social media, alleging that pressure placed on the network via the Big Ten forced the decision.
Why Ryan Day's complaints led to the "Big Noon Kickoff" exit
The departure of Barstool Sports from the pregame show is, according to Dave Portnoy, the direct result of a campaign by Ohio State head coach Ryan Day. In a series of expletive-laden posts on X, Portnoy claimed that Day had complained to the Big Ten and issued threats to FOX Sports until the network felt compelled to remove the media company. portnoy characterized Day as "soft" and referred to him as "Cryin Ryan," suggesting that the coach had been throwing "temper tantrums" over Portnoy's commentary.
This public fallout highlights the volatile intersection of modern sports betting culture and the rigid hierarchies of collegiate athletics. While Barstool Sports sought to bring a disruptive energy to the broadcast, the power dynamics of the Big Ten—one of the most lucrative conferences in sports—clearly outweighed the value of Portnoy's digital reach. As Portnoy noted, the "juice was not worth the squeeze" when weighed against the massive financial stakes involved in the FOX Sports and Big Ten partnership.
The friction between Barstool's edgy persona and FOX's Big Ten partnership
The split reflects a deeper struggle to reconcile two vastly different brand identities. According to reporting from The Athletic, FOX Sports struggled to blend its traditional programming standards with the provocative, often irreverent persona of Barstool Sports. This tension became acute given the network's formal partnership with the Big Ten, where institutional stability and brand safety are prioritized over viral moments.
The friction had already begun to manifest in specific restrictions. For instance, the report from The Athletic noted that Dave Portnoy was banned from appearing on the show during the upcoming matchup between Minnesota and his alma mater, Michigan. this suggests that the removal from "Big Noon Kickoff" was not a sudden whim but the culmination of a year of managed conflicts and boundary-setting by FOX Sports executives.
The survival of "Wake Up Barstool" on FS1
Despite the exit from the Saturday college football window, the relationship between the two entities is not entirely severed. The Athletic reported that Barstool's partnership with FOX Sports remains in place for other properties,specifically the daily weekday show "Wake Up Barstool," which continues to air on FS1. This indicates that FOX Sports is comfortable with Barstool's brand in a general sports context, but finds it incompatible with the specific sensitivities of the Big Ten's coaching staffs and administrations.
The partnership for "Big Noon Kickoff" lasted just over a year, beginning in 2025. While the Saturday appearances are gone, Portnoy has signaled that the Barstool College Football show will continue independently, and he has expressed an interest in visiting Columbus in the future, regardless of the network ban.
The silence of FOX Sports and the Big Ten
While Dave Portnoy has been vocal about the reasons for the split, a significant information gap remains: neither FOX Sports nor the Big Ten has issued a public statement regarding the matter. it remains unverified whether the Big Ten conference officially pressured the network or if the decision was an internal FOX Sports move to avoid further friction with a key partner like Ohio State.
Furthermore, it is unclear if this move sets a precedent for other Big Ten programs to request the removal of specific media personalities from network broadcasts . the lack of a formal response from the network leaves open the question of whether this was a targeted removal of Barstool or a broader shift in how FOX Sports intends to manage its "edgy" content moving forward.
Comments 0