Ohio State will reportedly ban Dave Portnoy from Ohio Stadium for Week 1 of Big Noon Kickoff

Saturday’s Big Noon Kickoff will be the first of the college football season and the first with Dave Portnoy on the show. Big Noon Kickoff will be on location in Columbus for the showdown between No. 1 Texas and No. 3 Ohio State, something that could present a problem if the show wants to finish inside of Ohio Stadium, AKA, The Horseshoe, a place where Portnoy is reportedly “not welcome.”

Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported the news on Monday night.

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

Portnoy responded to the Front Office Sports post on X.

https://t.co/iZtAt2rGDw pic.twitter.com/V5NotTorNy

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) August 26, 2025

The matter was also discussed by Austin Ward of 97.1 and 10TV in Columbus discussed the matter on his show, The Beat with Austin & Birm.

“There’s a legitimate conversation going about if Big Noon thinks that they’re gonna continue to be able to finish their shoe inside The Horseshoe, Dave Portnoy is not welcome in The Horseshoe. Like, period,” Ward said.

🏟️ Dave Portnoy NOT WELCOME inside Ohio Stadium
“There’s a legitimate conversation going if Big Noon thinks they’re finishing their show inside the Horseshoe. Dave Portnoy is NOT welcome.” -Austin Ward & Bobby Carpenter#BigNoon #OhioState @stoolpresidente pic.twitter.com/CmE0DIuvIN

— Intrinsic (@intrinsicvalyou) August 25, 2025

“I know that there have been conversations about that and what that’s gonna look like on Saturday,” Ward continued, while talking to former Ohio State linebacker Bobby Carpenter. “Because, you might have, I don’t know, Bob, asked one of your most important partners about the moves.”

“No, we’re gonna try to get somebody that’s kind of like McAfee but not really,” Carpenter said. “He’s like more of an antagonistic non-player. Like, people forget, Pat McAfee’s a Pro Bowl punter and like, he’s entertaining but…”

“He likes his alma mater,” co-host Justin Zwick interjected. “But he doesn’t trash the rest of college football.”

“And he’s not a jerk,” Carpenter added. “When it comes down to it, Pat’s like a really good dude. So, he’s like the entertainment value but not like — there’s just so much animosity around Portnoy. And I could take some of his stuff. I could leave some of the rest.”