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Dave Portnoy takes shot at ESPN in his FOX announcement

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 4:59 PM ET

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy confirmed that he will be joining FOX’s “Big Noon Kickoff” in a deal that will also see Barstool content appear regularly on FOX Sports.

In an “emergency press conference,” Portnoy confirmed reports that he would be joining FOX’s weekly college football pregame show this fall. He added that Barstool’s new agreement with FOX would be “wide-ranging,” and in a post, took a thinly-veiled shot at ESPN.

“This is the 1st time in our illustrious and notorious history that we’ve got a Tv partner we believe in and believes in us,” Portnoy wrote.

Emergency Press Conference – Barstool Sports is Proud to announce a new wide ranging partnership with Fox Sports. This is the 1st time in our illustrious and notorious history that we’ve got a Tv partner we believe in and believes in us. I can’t wait to see what we create… pic.twitter.com/vQ19c7brof
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) July 17, 2025

In 2017, ESPN aired a single episode of “Barstool Van Talk” before pulling the plug on the show due to backlash. The network had always sought to distance itself from the Barstool brand, which is likely why Portnoy has no problem calling them out now.

Portnoy will essentially be FOX’s answer to Pat McAfee as “Big Noon Kickoff” seeks to go head-to-head against ESPN’s flagship “College GameDay.” For the Barstool chief, some element of this may even be personal.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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