Fox Sports is joining forces with Barstool Sports.
Barstool Sports' programming will appear on Fox Sports 1 while founder Dave Portnoy will appear on Fox Sports “Big Noon Kickoff” college football show. The partnership was announced Thursday afternoon.
“(Barstool owner and founder) Dave (Portnoy) has built a one-of-a-kind brand that connects with a new generation of sports fans — authentic, bold, and original. Their unique voice and loyal fanbase makes them a natural fit for our evolving multiplatform content strategy,” Fox Sports CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks said in a statement.
Portnoy graduated from Michigan, which could lead to some interesting interactions with former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.
“Nobody has been there to defend the Kings of the Conference. That ends today,” Portnoy said in a video posted to Twitter/X.
“Big Noon Kickoff” will begin the season in Columbus, Ohio, on Aug. 29 when defending national champion Ohio State hosts Texas. The show also features host Rob Stone and analysts Brady Quinn, Matt Leinart, Mark Ingram and Chris “The Bear” Fallica.
The “Barstool College Football Show” — which will air on Saturday's from 9-9:45 a.m. — will also be streamed across Fox's digital platforms, including Tubi.
Other Barstool personalities will also make appearances on “Big Noon Kickoff," including Dan “Big Cat” Katz. Barstool will also contribute to Fox's college basketball coverage and possibly horse racing.
Barstool will have a live two-hour weekday morning show on FS1 with the launch date to be announced later.
FS1 has a need for studio programming after cancelling three shows earlier this week.
“In our two-decade history, we’ve never had the chance to work with so much talent and resources. We can’t wait to collab and bring our voice to FOX Sports’ airwaves," Portnoy said in a statement.
Barstool's addition gives Fox Sports what it hopes will be its answer to Pat McAfee as well as possible inroads with the age 18-34 demographic.
Barstool previously had a relationship with ESPN, but its program was canceled after one episode in 2017 after the network received criticism both inside and outside the company.
Portnoy founded Barstool in 2004 but Penn Gaming acquired majority stake in 2023 after being an investor since 2020. Portnoy bought Barstool back later that year for $1 after Penn Gaming rebranded Barstool Sportsbook as ESPN Bet.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Barstool Sports blogger David Portnoy, center, poses with the Miami mascot Sebastian the Ibis during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Florida State, Jan. 22, 2022, in Coral Gables, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, file)
ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.
The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.
The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.
The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.
The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”
The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.
Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.
The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.
On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.
Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.
“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”
Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.
Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.
“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.
Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.
Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
