Could you imagine Dave Portnoy lobbying for Ohio State or Michigan State to make the College Football Playoff?
The idea might not be as crazy as you think.
One day after Fox officially announced its new partnership with Barstool Sports, which will see the company’s founder join the cast of Big Noon Kickoff, Puck’s John Ourand published a detailed report regarding the behind-the-scenes factors that led to the blockbuster deal. And one of those details is that Fox and Big Ten executives have long wanted an “on-air fanboy” to promote the conference, similar to — and to help combat — Paul Finebaum’s role with regard to the SEC on ESPN.
“Fox executives see a chance to insert a big personality to their lineup, and to leverage Portnoy’s Michigan fandom, which dovetails naturally with their Big Ten rights package,” writes Ourand. “After all, ESPN has a number of high-profile commentators, like Paul Finebaum, who openly advocate for the SEC, especially when it comes to getting teams in the College Football Playoff. (ESPN, of course, holds all of the SEC’s media rights through 2034.) In short, Fox executives and Big Ten officials wanted an on-air fanboy of their own.”
Ourand also noted that “the need for a passionate conference booster” had been a topic for conference and network executives well before the Barstool deal came to fruition.
We’ll find out soon enough whether Portnoy is the man for that job, as his allegiances to his alma mater, the University of Michigan, have also made him one of Ohio State’s primary sports media adversaries. Even as recently as this week, the Boston native took to social media to troll Buckeye Nation after Front Office Sports first reported that Fox and Barstool were in negotiations on the deal.
Still, even if he’s not able to stomach the Scarlet and Gray, it’s not hard to imagine Portnoy taking every opportunity possible to blast the SEC on a weekly basis.
Ohio State-Michigan rivalry aside, it’s certainly interesting to see that both Fox and the Big Ten have privately acknowledged the need to combat ESPN’s promotion of the SEC, especially with the Worldwide Leader laying claim to all of the conference’s media rights through 2034. While the idea of networks favoring one conference over the other used to be message board fodder, it now appears both the leagues and their partners are putting their cards on the table, with Fox and the Big Ten’s coming in the form of a Michigan alum who may now find himself expected to promote even the Wolverines’ rivals.
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.