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Newsstand: Ohio State bars Michigan alum Dave Portnoy from stadium in FOX debut

Anthony Broomeby: Anthony Broome08/26/25anthonytbroome
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Michigan Wolverines alum and Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy is set to make his FOX debut on Saturday as part of its Big Noon Saturday coverage from No. 1 Texas at No. 3 Ohio State.

However, the avid Wolverine fan will not be allowed to enter Ohio Stadium, the institution has decided.

According to Front Office Sports, Portnoy is barred from The Horseshoe, but will still be part of the broadcast.

Portnoy will still appear on Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff, but not for the end of the show inside the stadium, a source said.

The Barstool College Football Show, which on a number of occasions will lead into Big Noon, will no longer run as Barstool previously planned, a source said. In announcing the partnership, Fox said that the Barstool show will be on the road with Big Noon for “select” dates. 

One source said Fox anticipated having issues with Portnoy and Ohio State and that the network’s original plan did not include him entering the stadium.

Following the report, former Michigan staffer Connor Stalions tweeted at Portnoy asking, “You need tickets?” Stalions was at the center of U-M’s sign-stealing scandal and is an ally of Portnoy’s.

Portnoy, of course, has watched his alma mater win four in a row against Ohio State, including last season’s 13-10 win inside that same stadium with the Wolverines entering as three-touchdown underdogs. Michigan goes for five in a row against the Buckeyes on Nov. 29 in Ann Arbor.

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“ This guy is the real deal. Now my biggest concern is, are they going to get the blocking for him up front? Is he going to have the offensive line to protect him? I’d feel much better, for example, if he were being thrown into the mix like [Chad Henne] in 2004, when you had that outstanding wide receiver trio, you had Mike Hart back there pass blocking, and you had a really solid offensive line. There are still a lot of question marks, so a lot more is going to fall on his shoulders than it did on Chad Henne back in 2004. To me, there’s no question that he’s going to be great in time. We’ll just see how quickly he gets there.”

– TheWolverine.com’s Chris Balas on Bryce Underwood’s outlook this season at Michigan

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