Whether you love it or hate it, the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl has become a staple of college football’s bowl season for the past few years. While it may be considered a lesser bowl in the grand scheme of things, its unique presentation — including Barstool Sports personalities in the broadcast booth — helped it stand out in a field of more than 40 bowl games.
It appears, however, that Barstool Sports’ run as the Arizona Bowl’s sponsor will be coming to an end after three years. Replying to a post on X (formerly Twitter), Barstool’s Dan “Big Cat” Katz said that Wyoming’s walk-off win over Toledo last week was “probably” the company’s final time sponsoring the bowl.
“Don’t think so unless something drastic changes,” Katz replied to somebody asking if the Barstool Bowl would be back next season. “Was a lot of fun doing it but unless the financials drastically change on doing it that’s probably it.”
Don’t think so unless something drastic changes. Was a lot of fun doing it but unless the financials drastically change on doing it that’s probably it https://t.co/Yfehcl0rw3
— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) December 31, 2023
That Barstool Sports would be getting out of the bowl game business doesn’t come as much of a surprise, especially after Penn Entertainment sold the company back to founder Dave Portnoy last year. While sponsoring a bowl game is great for creating brand awareness, as Katz alluded to, it likely wasn’t a money maker, and Portnoy has been open about the financial issues that Barstool Sports faces after he repurchased it for $1 last year.
In addition to sponsoring the Arizona Bowl since 2021, Barstool has sponsored college basketball’s Barstool Invitational for the past two years. But following the most recent installment of the event this past November, Portnoy indicated on social media that it also wouldn’t be coming back.
That last game was the worst sporting event I've ever sat through and the end of the Barstool Invitational for good.
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 9, 2023
Bowl sponsors come and go, but it seems clear that having its name attached to college sports attractions is no longer a part of the Barstool model. Again, that’s not surprising considering last year’s sale. But it will be interesting to see how the company pivots from what was once one of its more ambitious strategies.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.