Big Noon Kickoff' Abruptly Cut Ties With Barstool's Dave Portnoy Before Michigan-Minnesota Game

Dave Portnoy’s short run on Fox’s college football pregame show “Big Noon Kickoff” is over. The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that Fox has opted to remove Portnoy from the program. Sources cited by Marchand say there wasn’t one single overriding reason, but rather an ongoing mismatch: Fox’s more traditional approach versus Barstool’s persona. Portnoy will stop appearing on “Big Noon Kickoff” starting with Fox’s broadcast from Minnesota ahead of the team’s Big Ten showdown against Michigan. After the news broke on Oct. 2, Portnoy blamed Ohio State coach Ryan Day, claiming threats to Fox led to the decision. Separately, ESPN’s “College GameDay” remains the top-rated pregame show, averaging 2.83 million viewers.