Dave Portnoy blames Ohio State coach Ryan Day as Barstool Sports gets axed from Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff show

Barstool Sports and its founder Dave Portnoy have been pulled from Fox Sports’ ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ broadcasts – a decision the divisive sports media figure and Michigan alum is blaming on Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.

‘Ohio State and Ryan Day b****ed and moaned to the Big 10 and threatened Fox till they had no choice,’ Portnoy wrote on X on Friday night. ‘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*** even I [didn’t] realize he was this soft.’

Portnoy then added a crying/laughing emoji with the hashtag ‘#GoBlue,’ which is a nod to his alma mater.

News of Fox Sports’ decision was first reported by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, who was told by sources that Portnoy and his Barstool Sports crew will no longer be appearing on Big Noon Kickoff. The Daily Mail has since confirmed the news with a source familiar with the decision. 

Fox Sports declined to comment when contacted by The Daily Mail.  

Big Ten football’s primary network has featured Portnoy and his cohorts like Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz for a little more than a year. But while Marchand’s sources did not point to any single incident that led to the decision, they did claim Portnoy faced issues over his presence at Ohio State home games. 

A well-known Buckeyes antagonist, Portnoy is not only an alum from rival Michigan, but a Wolverines booster as well. And as Marchand wrote for The Athletic, reports surfaced in 2025 claiming he was banned from the Ohio Stadium in Columbus, where Fox frequently shoots Big Noon Kickoff. 

On Friday, Portnoy insisted the crowds outside the stadium known as the Horseshoe have embraced both him and the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry.

‘The Barstool College Football will continue on,’ Portnoy wrote on X. ‘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.’

Another issue, according to Marchand’s reporting, was the difficult task of blending Barstool’s boisterous antics with the studio show’s more traditional feel. 

The decision won’t impact Portnoy’s other deal with Fox. Barstool’s Fox Sports morning show, Wake-Up Barstool, will continue to air on FS1 on weekday mornings, according to Marchand.

The Daily Mail has sought comment from Portnoy, the Big Ten and Ohio State athletics.