Ohio State reportedly did not ban Dave Portnoy from Ohio Stadium for 'Big Noon Kickoff'
- - Ohio State reportedly did not ban Dave Portnoy from Ohio Stadium for 'Big Noon Kickoff'
John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORK August 26, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Ohio State reportedly did not ban Dave Portnoy from Ohio Stadium for 'Big Noon Kickoff'
Newly named Fox Sports "Big Noon Kickoff" analyst Dave Portnoy will not be allowed inside Ohio Stadium on Saturday, Aug. 30 in the lead-up to No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 Ohio State.
But the barring isn't coming from Ohio State itself.
According to Yahoo Sports' Ross Dellenger, Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork said Portnoy not joining the likes of former Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer and Co. inside the stadium is a decision made by Fox Sports and not the university.
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In addition, a Big Ten spokesperson told Dellenger and Yahoo Sports that it "is the league’s understanding from Fox" that Portnoy will not appear on the main desk inside any Big Ten stadium that the show travels to this year.
The Columbus Dispatch, part of the USA TODAY Network, did not receive immediate responses from Bjork and the Ohio State sports information department when reached out for comment on Dellenger's report.
Dellenger's report also comes less than 24 hours after Front Office Sports reported that Ohio State was barring Barstool Sports from campus and the Michigan alum from entering The Shoe alongside the "Big Noon Kickoff" crew for the end of the pregame show.
Portnoy, known to be rather active on social media, went to X (formerly Twitter) late Monday night and quote-tweeted Front Office Sports' report with a photo of him in disguise with a mustache and sunglasses. The tweet was then responded to by Connor Stalions, the former Michigan off-the-field analyst who was the catalyst behind the Wolverines' sign-stealing scandal, with "You need tickets?"
Fox Sports announced back on July 17 that it struck a deal with the Barstool founder and media personality to be a new member of its pregame show desk. The deal between Fox Sports and Portnoy also included that Barstool content will start airing on Fox Sports 1, a first for the content company, and that a new Barstool daily morning show will be created on the network with Portnoy and other Barstool personalities.
Noted by its website, the Week 1 show of "Big Noon Kickoff" is scheduled to start at 9 a.m. ET on Saturday, August 30, in front of the Recreation and Physical Activity Center on Ohio State's campus for Ohio State vs. Texas.
Ohio State opened as an early -1.5 point favorite against Texas on BetMGM, but has since gone up to a -2.5 point favorite on the sportsbook website.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Is Dave Portnoy banned from Ohio Stadium for 'Big Noon Kickoff'?
Source: “AOL Sports”
