When Barstool Sports announced their partnership with FOX Sports last summer, many speculated on what to expect. The agreement meant that Barstool would have a weekly presence on the network’s flagship college football pregame show, Big Noon Kickoff. The other aspect of the agreement was a two-hour morning program curated, hosted and produced by Barstool for distribution on FS1. A month prior to the agreement announcement, T-Bob Hebert joined the Barstool Sports brand with some unsettling nerves about what his role would be.
“I had all these show ideas that I was ready to pitch. Then my first day working there, Big Cat [Dan Katz] called me and said they [Barstool] have a deal in the works with FOX that they feel I’d be a great fit for,” said Hebert. “That was a wild pinch myself moment. On my first day of work, I was basically told that there could be a potential national show on FS1 that they wanted me to be the host of.”
Months later, Wake Up Barstool launched on Labor Day, leading into the first week of the NFL regular season. The show is hosted by a rotating cast of Barstool Sports personalities, with Hebert serving as the most consistent presence. Hebert is no stranger to hosting morning programming. Prior to joining the digital content factory at Barstool, he hosted morning radio on 104.5 ESPN Baton Rouge for several years.
Leaning on his experience in morning radio helped Hebert adapt to the new structure his role at Barstool would provide. He says the best thing about working for Barstool is how collaborative and creative the entire staff is, with everyone pulling in the same direction and finding new avenues for content with nearly no restraints on support.
“It is a building filled with super creative people. I wasn’t sure how the environment was going to be at first, because it’s definitely competitive. Thankfully, it feels more collaborative,” said Hebert. “This place is crazy. If you have an idea, they’re like go do it and we will give you the resources to try it.”
Planning Ahead
It’s been nearly six months since Wake Up Barstool launched on FS1. The program airs live from 8 to 10 a.m. It then replays on the network before The Herd with Colin Cowherd at noon. Unlike many Barstool Sports properties built for a digital-first audience, Hebert said Wake Up Barstool is produced primarily for television.
He credited the football season with giving Wake Up Barstool a strong runway to find its footing in a network-style presentation. Now, with the NFL season complete, the offseason challenge begins. The former LSU Tigers football standout said he looks forward to the test. He plans to build on the foundation established this fall.
“The worst thing that we can do is think that the show is good now, and just keep doing what we’ve been doing,” said Hebert. “We’ve already had a ton of meetings about ways to expand and things we want to try. We’re not afraid of doing things, but I feel good coming out of the football season with an offseason filled with a billion things to talk about.”
The reception from FOX through the beginning of the program has been positive, according to Hebert. He credits the partnership with the network for allowing them to have full reign over the content direction and style of the program. Working in partnership with FOX has also granted exclusive interviews with FOX talent and unique access to FOX broadcast events.
For Hebert, he remains mindful that a television audience on FS1 may not fully align with the Barstool Sports brand. He said his approach is to create a welcoming environment. That mindset holds even when content on Wake Up Barstool leans heavily into insider conversation.
“Things can be so large and take over the entire Barstool workplace that everyone’s talking about. Somebody watching may not have a clue what the f**k we’re talking about,” explained Hebert. “I understand that. We’re doing a better job of translating why things are funny through showing the audience, instead of just referencing it… Sometimes some things are just unescapable and nature of the beast.”
Defining Success
Hebert says the model for Wake Up Barstool was never to try to replicate anything from ESPN’s morning lineup. Although initial viewership reports drew criticism, including from Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy himself, the goal, according to Hebert, isn’t viewership but engagement.
“I don’t know what the numbers are. I’ve never been terribly numbers motivated, but we are a social media clip factory here,” explained Hebert. “My first success metric is am I proud of what we just did? That’s something that can bounce from day to day, but the goal is to have fun and a good time.”
Since launching in September of 2024, Wake Up Barstool has gained over 186,000 followers on social media, earning over 346 million views across Barstool channels in that timeframe. In January alone aided by the NFL and college football playoffs, Wake Up Barstool increased it’s following by 15% while seeing 1.2 million engagements across platforms.
Despite that growing following on social media, one goal for Hebert is finding new avenues to grow the program’s YouTube platform moving into the spring and summer months. So far, he has been impressed with the social media engagement Wake Up Barstool has generated, despite the struggles of early traditional viewership metrics.
“Good social media numbers make me feel good. Because I want to stay on air and keep doing the show. If that element is going well, let’s keep doing that. But it would be really cool to see that the linear numbers are making people happy. Who wouldn’t enjoy that,” said Hebert. “If that’s where you start as your motivation, I personally feel that’s a recipe for disaster creating a show that’s not authentic.”
Be Entertaining
That authentic approach has always guided Hebert, from the locker room at LSU to sports radio and now to building his global persona at Barstool Sports. Although he hasn’t finished his first year of a two-year agreement with Barstool, he still considers the sky the limit and has no plans to move on.
As someone who grew up witnessing Barstool’s rise from the outside, he now has a new appreciation for the brand from the inside. It’s one he feels some in sports media often overlook.
“I think people paint with a broad brush at times about the character of Barstool Sports,” said Hebert. “In my experience, Barstool has a lot of kind-hearted people from all over the country. A ton of different backgrounds and beliefs that are just trying to make something that people want to be entertained by.”
In many ways, Wake Up Barstool is still in its infancy — a show born out of an unlikely partnership between a digital disruptor and a legacy sports network. For Hebert, however, the growing pains are part of the appeal. Building something from scratch, especially under the bright lights of FS1, is exactly the kind of challenge that fuels him.
For Hebert, the mission remains simple even as the platform grows larger.
Be authentic. Be creative. Keep building.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
