Dave Portnoy can’t avoid Big Ten drama.
The controversial Barstool Sports founder and “Fox Noon Kickoff” panelist alleged that the conference is keeping him away from next weekend’s show that he speculated will emanate from a Big Ten campus.
He will instead be in Starkville, Miss., as part of “The Barstool College Football Show.”
“It wouldn’t shock me, but it also wouldn’t shock me if just to be like, ‘Ya know what, let’s cool tensions a little bit and you guys take a deep breath, go to Mississippi State, make Brandon Walker happy and then we’ll regroup after that and come back together,’” Portnoy said Thursday on the “Unnamed Podcast” while speculating on a potential Big Ten ask of Fox to keep him away.
Portnoy revealed the behind-the-scenes drama while detailing his arrangements for the next few weeks, although he clarified that he doesn’t know if an official ask had been made by the conference.
“That I don’t know, but I know this is 100 percent the truth: We have a great relationship with Fox, and I am not trying to make their lives more difficult because we have a great relationship,” Portnoy said. “So, that is why we’re going to Mississippi State.”
Portnoy will be live with Fox this Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, for the top-ranked Buckeyes’ once-hyped matchup against reeling Penn State.
He and his Barstool crew will then head south next week for Mississippi State’s home SEC matchup against Georgia, which eventually elicited a question regarding whether his absence related to his contract of he was just receiving a week off from his Fox duties.
“I don’t know if it was in the contract or not,” Portnoy said. “There’s no trouble in paradise with us and Fox. Now, is there trouble in paradise with other people? Maybe. But not us and Fox.”
Portnoy further clarified that he has no issue with Fox while providing more hints on which faction there may be some strife.
“We have a great relationship with Fox. I love doing the show,” he said. “I’m not going to jeopardize my relationship with Fox because it’s a great one. There’s a group that maybe hasn’t cared for Barstool, who has not cared for Barstool throughout this relationship.”
He added: “It’s not really a channel, more of a conference.”
Portnoy did not know where Fox’s show will be aired from next week, but noted that it likely won’t be a Big 12 school since he said that conference “loves us.”
He said it “probably” will be from a Big Ten campus, with the conference’s slated including Indiana hosting Penn State, Iowa welcoming Oregon and Ohio State visiting Purdue.
Portnoy’s co-hosts then wondered why the Big Ten would be opposed to him.
“It’s very (Roger) Goodell,” Portony said, referencing his longstanding beef with the NFL commissioner. “I don’t think they’d even have an answer, my answer would be they potentially take themselves way too seriously.”
He added: “We have a great relationship with Fox Sports. They have been nothing but great working with us, it’s like the oppo-world of ESPN. … So I’m not trying to agitate it … I think they would probably echo a lot of the things we say, but this is our partner and we’re going to try to make this work as best we can with everybody. But I have no complaints with Fox. None, zero. I love working with them well.”
This is at least the second time this year Portnoy has been involved in drama regarding whether he could attend an on-campus show.
Multiple reports emerged before Ohio State’s season-opening home win over Texas about why he could not be inside the stadium for the game, with one report stating the school had banned him while the school’s athletic director said it had to do with Portnoy not being part of the show’s main panel.
Portnoy’s inclusion on the show has been polarizing for some, since he’s brought a WWE-like personality to the show with scathing promos.
Said Portnoy: “I think it is doing better, but I think a lot of ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ is sort of game-dependent.”
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