$250 million booster Dave Portnoy just pulled another eye-catching move that just put Michigan in a bad spotlight. Kyle Whittingham’s team hosted its spring game on April 18th, 2026. It was free and open for all fans, but things turned out weird when Portnoy posted a video spreading fake news about fans’ attendance at the stadium.
It all started when Dave Portnoy posted a video of Michigan Stadium where the seats were fully packed, and even one seat was not empty on X. He added that with a caption that reads, “Not an empty seat at the Big House today for spring football!!!!” #GoBlue.” Now, he mentioned that it was from Michigan’s spring practice, but that’s not the case, as fans quickly noticed the problem and started adding context to his video post on X.
It was a video from Michigan’s game against USC back in 2024 where the crowd totally packed the entire stadium. If we go by numbers, there were a total of 110,702 fans in the stadium, which explains the amount of crowd that’s shown in the video posted by Dave Portnoy. The atmosphere was so intense that 23 fans were ejected during the game, nine of whom were for their disorderly behavior.
So, posting a video of a game that happened two years ago, claiming it was a spring game, angered fans, too. Fans commented on the post with remarks such as, “FAKE NEWS ALERT.” Another fan confirmed this by posting a picture of the actual spring game, noting that the weather was cold and rainy, which contrasted sharply with the sunny conditions shown in the video posted by Dave Portnoy.
The fan said, “Dude, I was there. Maybe 40,000 people. Cold and rainy, and Underwood still blows.” The blowback was instant. Instead of hyping up the new era, Portnoy’s stunt just handed rival fanbases free ammo to mock the actual turnout. The blatant mismatch between his sunny footage and the gloomy Ann Arbor weather turned a simple hype post into an embarrassing, unforced error on social media.
Not an empty seat at the Big House today for spring football!!!! #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/MBznvntYen
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) April 18, 2026
Portnoy’s support for Michigan has a history of generating controversy, most notably during the team’s sign-stealing scandal. He defended them throughout the entire scandal despite all the proof pointing against them. The NCAA finished a long investigation into Michigan football and gave serious punishments. These included fines of more than $20 million, limits on recruiting, and strict actions against coaches and staff.
Dave Portnoy did not agree with these decisions. He strongly supported Michigan and spoke out against the NCAA. In a video, he made fun of the punishment and expressed his dissatisfaction and even mocked Ohio State.
“I don’t care; it doesn’t matter,” Portnoy said. “Ohio State, cry. Little brother, cry. All you other schools, cry. It’s going to be student body left, student body right … and we’re going to mash you, just like we’ve mashed Ohio State for the past 100 years.”
So, it’s pretty clear that when it comes to backing Michigan or hyping it up, Portnoy can go to any extent. But despite all the fake news, Portnoy can’t deny Bryce Underwood’s inconsistent performance.
Bryce Underwood’s underwhelming performance in the spring game
Michigan gave fans their first look at quarterback Bryce Underwood in the spring game after hiring a new head coach and quarterbacks coach. His performance looked shaky, similar to last season. He completed only 3 of 9 passes for 22 yards. Some of his throws went too far or off target, and one of his best deep passes was dropped.
After the spring game, Kyle Whittingham explained the entire situation.
“He progressed all through spring, and some things may not have been noticeable to the general populace,” Whittingham said. “His footwork, pocket presence, he’s improved in all areas. He has work to do. He knows that, but he’s ahead of where he was last season. We think he has a lot of upside. We have a lot of confidence in him.”
Michigan improved its coaching by adding former NFL quarterback Koy Detmer and trainer Jordan Palmer to help Underwood get better. But even with all his effort and support, his performance still looked shaky.
Meanwhile, backup quarterback Tommy Carr impressed in front of about 35,000 fans. He completed 21 of 30 passes for 143 yards and played very well. Because of this strong performance, things might change for coach Kyle Whittingham after practice. It could even affect the decision about who will be the starting quarterback (QB1).
