Report: Big 12 offers Dave Portnoy, Barstool Sports 'blank canvas' for engagement

Brett Yormark and the Big 12 want in on Dave Portnoy and Barstool Sports as a whole. According to Ross Dellenger, the conference’s decision-makers are offering the controversial pundit a “blank canvas” for engagement across their league’s campuses.

“Interesting: Brett Yormark and Big 12 ADs held a 40-minute call today with Dave Portnoy, offering him a ‘blank canvas’ of engagement opportunities and emphasizing their full support of integrating the Barstool brand across league campuses, starting this week with Iowa State-Iowa,” Dellenger posted on X.

The news follows the announcement that Portnoy will be allowed on campus when Big Noon Kickoff visits Iowa State this weekend. Portnoy had been “barred” from the Ohio State stadium last week, preventing him from joining his colleagues on the show for the final segments in the lead up to the Buckeyes’ game versus Texas. The barring itself became a national story.

Iowa State wanted to be perfectly clear on where it stood. Portnoy is welcome: “Iowa State is not Ohio State,” Cyclones athletics director Jamie Pollard wrote on Twitter. “Dave Portnoy and @barstoolsports will be live from the Reiman Plaza Saturday as part of Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff.”

The Portnoy barring in Columbus was one that was debated throughout the lead-up to Week 1, with some calling it a semantics game. Ohio State athletics director Ross Bjork offered some clarification.

“Ohio State did not issue a ban on Dave Portnoy, AD Ross Bjork tells @YahooSports,” Dellenger previously posted on X. “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.”

Whatever the case, Portnoy did not appear inside The Horseshoe last weekend. He’ll have the opportunity to be on the set inside the stadium at Iowa State when the Cyclones take on the rival Iowa Hawkeyes.

Portnoy has drawn considerable press this offseason since taking the gig with FOX Sports on the Big Noon Kickoff program. Now, he’ll get a chance to fully participate.

He’ll join Urban Meyer, Matt Leinart, Brady Quinn, Mark Ingram, Chris “The Bear” Fallica and host Rob Stone on the weekly pregame show. Hall of Famer Charles Woodson appears on special occasions due to his NFL obligations.

Outside of that, it remains to be seen if he takes Yormark and the Big 12 up on their offer. One thing is for certain, Portnoy is one to watch in college football at the moment, as his star continues to rise in the sport.

— On3’s Thomas Goldkamp contributed to this article.