Barstool College Football Show to make Rentschler Field stop for UConn vs. UMass
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
The Barstool College Football Show is officially set to visit East Hartford and Rentschler Field ahead of UConn’s Friday night game against UMass next week.
“Growing up in the Northeast, UMass-UConn, they do not like each other,” Barstool founder Dave Portnoy said on the show’s Week 7 preview episode. “These are like bitter, bitter rivals. UMass was playing good (when we broached the idea), they lost their quarterback which sucked. But it is a heated fan rivalry game, I think they played this at Gillette (Stadium) a couple times so I thought it’d be a cool game.”
The festivities, set up between gates C and D in the Rentschler Field parking lot, will begin at 5:30 p.m. ahead of the 7 p.m. kickoff on Oct. 23.
UMass was 4-0 when Portnoy initially posted about bringing the show to Connecticut, just hours before UConn lost to Syracuse, 42-41, in overtime. The Minutemen lost quarterback Pop Watson III, a local star from Springfield, Mass., to an ankle injury the same day and have since suffered back-to-back losses to Eastern Michigan and Miami, Ohio.
Nonetheless, Portnoy’s post caught the necessary eyes.
Always looking to build excitement for the football program, UConn Athletic Director David Benedict quickly replied inviting the Barstool show, which reflects a College GameDay or Big Noon Kickoff event. Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont joined in, both offering pizza as Portnoy, known for his One Bite Pizza Reviews, has referred to New Haven as the Pizza Capital of the U.S.
It wasn’t long before both the UConn and UMass football main accounts chimed in, as well as the Mid-American Conference and men’s basketball coaches Dan Hurley and Frank Martin. Hurley’s team was last to get the GameDay treatment in the state ahead of a Big East tilt against Villanova in the 2024 national championship season.
UConn has a bye this week and will be 3-3 when the Barstool show visits, hosted by Portnoy, Kayce Smith, Brandon Walker and Dan “Big Cat” Katz. UMass, 4-2, will visit Buffalo on Saturday.
“It’ll be a cool Friday night environment,” said Portnoy, who was recently removed from FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff show. “And don’t embarrass me UMass and UConn fans by not showing up because we picked this game – we have all major games and we picked UMass-UConn because I did think it would be a cool game.”
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos