Dave Portnoy, founder of Barstool Sports, reacts during Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” show at Brigham Young University in Provo on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. | Rio Giancarlo, Deseret NewsRyan McDonaldTue, December 2, 2025 at 8:21 PM UTC·1 min readEver since Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” show went to BYU for the Cougars’ Oct. 18 rivalry game against Utah, Barstool Sports’ Dave Portnoy has become somewhat of an unlikely hero in Provo and among the BYU fan base.
As Cougars head football coach Kalani Sitake mulls whether or not to take the same position at Penn State, Portnoy took to social media to plead with Sitake to stay.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHe wrote a message quote tweeting Jason McGowan, the CEO of Crumbl who himself has been public about his desire for Sitake to stay at BYU.
“I arrived in Provo as a young man with @BNKonFOX not knowing what to expect,“ Portnoy wrote. ”I was overwhelmed with all the love I received from Cougar Nation. From Cosmo to Kalani it was all love. From the ice cream to the dirty soda to the weird guy at the pizza shop it was all love.
“Coach Sitake danced his way into my heart. There is no place like Provo and Provo can’t exist without BYU football. And BYU football can’t exist without Kalani. And neither can #ProvoDave Stay Kalani Stay!"
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