Fox Sports’ splashy summer partnership with Barstool was bound to ruffle feathers, and the turbulence arrived ahead of Saturday’s Texas-Ohio State opener. Reports Monday night claimed the Buckeyes had barred Barstool founder and outspoken Michigan alum Dave Portnoy from the Horseshoe, even though Big Noon Kickoff will originate on campus. That storyline gained immediate traction, feeding an already combustible rivalry and casting doubt on how Fox intends to deploy its newest, and most polarizing personality.

The clarification came Tuesday from college football reporter Ross Dellenger, who tweeted: “A Big Ten spokesperson tells @YahooSports that it is the league’s understanding from Fox that Dave Portnoy will not appear on Big Noon Kickoff’s main stage inside the stadium of any conference school this year.” The league office’s statement reframes the entire dust-up, suggesting Fox made a blanket decision to keep Portnoy off stadium sets rather than Ohio State issuing a specific ban.

That distinction matters because it shifts responsibility from Columbus administrators to Fox’s own risk-management strategy. Sources told Front Office Sports that the network anticipated resistance from schools, particularly one Portnoy trolls relentlessly, and never planned to march him into Ohio Stadium’s closing segment anyway. The pregame desk will still feature Rob Stone, Urban Meyer, and company, but Portnoy’s contributions will come from a remote stage or off-site location, at least for now.

The adjustment also derails the promised rollout of “The Barstool College Football Show,” which Fox had billed as a road companion to Big Noon. That program will not air from Columbus, and industry insiders expect other campuses to follow suit, given Portnoy’s history of antagonizing rival fan bases. Former Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter told his Columbus radio show that many at his alma mater are “not all that happy” about Portnoy’s Fox hiring, while co-host Austin Ward bluntly declared the Michigan grad “not welcome inside the Horseshoe.”

For Portnoy, who recently helped orchestrate five-star quarterback Bryce Underwood’s flip to Michigan, the restriction hands him fresh ammunition in the rivalry while underscoring that his new broadcast home still controls the access cards. All parties insist the partnership remains intact, but the opening-week shuffle hints at a season-long balancing act between Fox, its digital provocateur, and the Big Ten stadiums where he hopes to make his biggest splash.

Ohio State clears the record

Hours after the initial reports sparked a social media firestorm, Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork moved to set the record straight. “Ohio State did not issue a ban on Dave Portnoy,” Bjork told Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger. “Bjork confirms that FOX decided Portnoy would not be on the main desk of Big Noon Kickoff and those not on the desk do not normally appear on the field. These are Fox decisions, he emphasized.” The clarification directly contradicts Monday night’s narrative that portrayed the Buckeyes as actively blocking Portnoy from their stadium, instead framing it as standard Fox production protocol.

Bjork’s statement reframes the entire controversy by distinguishing between show roles and stadium access. According to the AD, Fox’s pregame format typically restricts field appearances to main-desk personalities while supplementary contributors like Portnoy work from remote locations or off-site sets. That operational detail transforms what appeared to be a personal vendetta into routine television logistics, though it doesn’t eliminate the underlying tension between Portnoy’s Michigan loyalties and his new Big Ten broadcasting responsibilities.

The timing of Bjork’s intervention suggests Ohio State felt compelled to distance itself from what looked like petty retaliation against a rival school’s most vocal alumnus. By emphasizing that “these are Fox decisions,” the athletic director shifts responsibility to the network while preserving the university’s reputation for hosting neutral media coverage. Whether Fox anticipated this exact scenario or genuinely structured Portnoy’s role to avoid campus friction, the clarification allows both parties to move forward without admitting to a direct confrontation, even as the underlying dynamic promises to resurface throughout the season.