Barstool Sports Hopes to Energize Big Noon Saturdays

The 2025 battle for pregame supremacy begins in earnest in just a few short weeks with the addition of Michigan alum and superfan Dave Portnoy, owner of Barstool Sports, to the Big Noon Kickoff show as a co-host.

Portnoy should do for Fox what Pat McAfee has done for College Gameday - bring the energy and excitement of a passionate fan, without the analytics. More significantly, Portnoy brings the Barstool Sports brand, along with its dominance among 17-34 year-olds, on the gameday journey.

"Fox executives see a chance to insert a big personality into their lineup, and to leverage Portnoy's Michigan fandom, which dovetails naturally with their Big Ten Rights package," Puck's John Ourand reported.

"After all, ESPN has a number of high-profile commentators, like Paul Finebaum, who openly advocate for the SEC, especially when it comes to getting teams in the College Football Playoff," Ourand wrote.

Needless to say, as the only current threat to the SEC's perch atop the college football hierarchy, it is in the Big Ten's best interests to have their own prominent fanboy advocating for the league during the weekly Big Noon Kickoff Show.

The current Big Noon lineup consists of Mark Ingram, Matt Leinart, Urban Meyer, Brady Quinn, Chris Fallica, and Rob Stone, none of whom have the influence of SEC rabid fan Paul Finebaum. With the addition of Portnoy, the Big Ten is assured of having a weekly advocate as the playoff debates heat up in November.

Unlike Finebaum, Portnoy has proven less likely to advocate for other Big Ten squads.

"We have all the schools covered, but only one school matters, and that's Michigan. We've ruled the conference with an iron fist for the past decade, and now it will continue inbetween the white lines and on the desk," Portnoy said in a video posted on X.

It's nothing new for Scarlet Knight fans to listen to Michigan alum opine about their superiority in everything from Football to fine arts, but it will be interesting to see how Portnoy's weekly rantings of Big Ten supremacy are tolerated by fellow Blue Bloods like Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Iowa. In any case, Big Noon Kickoff just got a whole lot spicier.

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