Fox Sports will descend on Salt Lake City this Saturday, providing a national spotlight for the University of Utah.
With No. 16 Utah’s 3-0 start behind new offensive coordinator Jason Beck, quarterback Devon Dampier and a solid defense, plus undefeated No. 17 Texas Tech in town, the timing was right for the university to host Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show for the first time ever.
Former Utah coach Urban Meyer will be back in town and joined by former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn, former Alabama running back Mark Ingram II, former USC quarterback Matt Leinart, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and host Rob Stone on the BKN set.
“Big Noon Kickoff,” which will preview Saturday’s college football action along with other segments, will be broadcast live from the Smith’s tailgate area on the corner of 500 South and Guardsman Way. BKN is preceded by the “Barstool College Football Show,” which airs beginning at 7 a.m. MDT on YouTube and will also be live from Utah.
“Big Noon Kickoff” starts at 8 a.m. MDT and will be broadcast live on Fox. The two-hour show will run for approximately an hour and 15 minutes on Guardsman Way before transitioning inside Rice-Eccles Stadium for the remainder of the broadcast. Utah and Texas Tech will kick off shortly after the conclusion of the “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show, with Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt on the call for Fox.
Utah has hosted ESPN’s “College GameDay” pregame show five times, most recently in 2023, but has never had Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” — which originated in 2019 — on campus.
Utah-Texas Tech is just one of just three ranked-vs.-ranked matchups Saturday, with No. 22 Auburn at No. 11 Oklahoma and No. 9 Illinois at No. 19 Indiana being the others, making it a no-brainer choice for Fox to bring BKN to Salt Lake City.
The Utah athletics department received a heads-up two weeks ago that Fox was strongly considering the Sept. 20 date for BKN, and it was made official last Saturday.
“We had on this one a little bit of a runway. A lot of schools, especially here going forward for the rest of the season as things just get harder for (Fox) to determine, a lot of schools only have a week, or call it six days, to prepare,” Gavin Gough, Utah’s associate athletics director for facilities, operations and capital projects, told the Deseret News.
Fox has had an interest in bringing BKN to the University of Utah for a while. In the summer of 2023, the network did a thorough site visit to campus to run through how it would work if BKN paid the Utes a visit.
“We had the opportunity in 2023 to really go through what it would look like if they were to come here,” Gough said. “So we had a lot of that information, which was really valuable to me.”
When Fox called to let the university know it was coming for Utah-Texas Tech, Gough and others in the athletics department were as prepared as they could be.
Not the Utes’ first rodeo
The past three times “College GameDay” has come to town, Utah has chosen picturesque Presidents Circle as the backdrop for the festivities. With a 10 a.m. MDT home kickoff, just 45 minutes after the BKN crew heads inside Rice-Eccles Stadium, the location this time needed to be different.
Utah opted to have the show set up on Guardsman Way due to the proximity to both the main tailgate lot and, more importantly, to Rice-Eccles Stadium, so fans attending both BNK and Saturday’s game can be in their seats by kickoff.
“We want our fans into the stadium early. We want them in their seats to enjoy the team warmups and the pregame festivities that take place in the stadium, and we want everyone to be there at kickoff,” Gough said.
Having everyone go to one side of campus and then come back just didn’t really make logistical sense.”
Gough added that Fox liked the Guardsman Way site when they toured the university back in 2023 due to its location near the tailgate lot.
Fox rolled into Salt Lake City on Tuesday morning and immediately went to work setting up the main stage, lights, speaker systems, tents, giant TV screens and more that are needed to make sure the show goes off without a hitch. Gough estimated approximately 250 people from Fox are involved in putting BKN on.
“It’s really a small army of people,” Gough said.
National exposure
Utah has been in the national spotlight plenty of times over the years, but it’s always beneficial and exciting for the university, and the football program, to get some more national exposure.
It starts with “Big Noon Kickoff” early in the morning, then millions of people will tune in to see the Utes battle the Red Raiders on what is consistently one of the most-watched college football time slots on Saturday.
“Excited about this week. Big 12 opener, Texas Tech coming to town. Got ‘Big Noon Kickoff’ coming,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said. “It’s a great opportunity for not only our program but for the university in general, a chance for our fans to showcase what Rice-Eccles is all about.
“... Our players deserve to play on this stage and it should be a great ball game.
How to watch and attend ‘Big Noon Kickoff’
Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” pregame show is free to attend and no tickets are required. Fans can begin lining up at 4 a.m. for the show, but no overnight camping is allowed on campus.
There will be a limited amount of free parking in lots 45 and 47 off Wasatch Drive, but Utah encourages fans without parking passes to utilize public transit, which is free with a game ticket.
Guardsman Way will close at 4 a.m. Saturday morning. Utah encourages tailgaters with passes in the main Guardsman Way tailgate lot to set up on Friday night — the lot will open to those with a permit at 6 p.m.
Fans are encouraged to bring signs to the “Big Noon Kickoff broadcast.
For those not making the trip up to Utah’s campus for the show, it will be aired live on Fox from 8 a.m.-10 a.m. MDT.
“This is a fan event. They do a lot of great things, giveaways and prizes and music and you’ll be able to watch the show and food,” Gough said. “It’s going to be the place to be. And so we’re just fortunate that they decided to come here because it’s just really adding to that game day fan experience for our fans who deserve this.”
