Since the Ohio State football team won the national championship, it seems like Ross Bjork can't stop making wrong moves. He has kept the Buckeyes from being able to recruit properly, he's ended beloved traditions, and he now has created a PR nightmare for the university.
Dave Portnoy was reportedly banned by Ohio State from entering the Shoe on Saturday. Portnoy was hired by FOX as part of their Big Noon coverage. News circulated Monday night that Portnoy was not going to be welcome inside the Shoe, and that it was Ohio State's decision.
Now, Bjork has come out to try to change the narrative to avoid Ohio State looking soft. According to him, as first reported by Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, Portnoy is not banned. FOX has simply made the decision not to have him on the main desk once Big Noon moves its pregame show into the Shoe before kickoff.
Ross Bjork claims the Ohio State football program did not ban Dave Portnoy
This is a no-win situation for anyone. Portnoy is not liked by a lot of people, especially within Ohio State, but this has spiraled out of control. The Ohio State Buckeyes never should have let this escalate to this point and should have been firm one way or the other.
Either they are going to flex their muscles and not allow Portnoy into the stadium, or they should have stayed out of it and let FOX do their own thing. Bjork seems to be a king of half-measures, and he has another one here. He has screwed so many things up since taking this athletic director job.
The Big Ten has now said that Portnoy won't be in any stadium this year, which is what Bjork should have demanded come out at the start.
A Big Ten spokesperson tells @YahooSports that it is the league’s understanding from Fox that Dave Portnoy will not appear on Big Noon Kickoff’s main stage inside the stadium of any conference school this year. https://t.co/qODvfqfFaA
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) August 26, 2025
Just when you think Bjork can't possibly screw more things up before football season actually starts, he has this happen. It seems that he is in over his head with a job this big, a job that Gene Smith did pretty well. Smith certainly wouldn't be making the mistakes Bjork has already made.
The Buckeyes are going to put this all behind them once Saturday rolls around, but this is an unneeded distraction for Ryan Day, created by his boss. It's yet another problem that Day has to deal with before he's played a single game to defend his national title.
There are a lot of ways that this can end before Saturday afternoon rolls around. Never underestimate Bjork in his ability to make something wrong happen.