Dave Portnoy makes $25,000 bet on Murray State to win 2025 College World Series

Barstool Sports founder and CEO Dave Portnoy is known for taking big swings with his money, especially with it comes to major sporting events. And the NCAA College World Series is no exception.

The wealthy entrepreneur and social media celebrity revealed he’s placed a $25,000 bet on underdog Murray State to win the 2025 Men’s College World Series that began Friday night from Omaha. At 45-to-1 odds, Portnoy would turn that $25K into $1.15 million if the Racers ultimately take home college baseball’s national championship this season.

Murray State Racers 45-1. Why not us? #dkpartner #CWS pic.twitter.com/Fmf188oSYD

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) June 13, 2025

College World Series National Anthem interrupted on-field by Palestinian protestor

At long last, the 2025 Men’s College World Series finally began on Friday afternoon. In the first of a potential 15 games in the event, Coastal Carolina and Arizona kicked off the festivities in Omaha.

Before the game could begin, however, a pro-Palestinian protestor made their presence known during the National Anthem. For the duration of the Anthem, the protestor stood with the Palestine flag draped over their shoulders.

Friday’s protest is just the latest in a long line of sports-related pro-Palestine protests that have occurred over the past year. A performer raised Palestine and Sudan flags during Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl LIX halftime show, pro-Palestine demonstrators disrupted last year’s Wimbledon event and London and May’s South East Women’s Regional Football League Regional Cup Final was abandoned due to “a perceived risk to safety” when fans refused to remove flags and banners showing support for Palestine.

The protests relate back to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the ongoing war in the Gaza strip and Israel. Many prominent sports figures, including the NBA’s Kyrie Irving and MMA fighter Islam Makhachev, have shown support for Palestine in recent years.

More on the 2025 College World Series

Some history is being made with this year’s College World Series field. In the Super Regional era, dating back to 1999, there has always been at least one repeat visitor. But as Aria Gerson of The Tennessean put out on social media, a completely fresh slate of teams is making their way to Omaha.

“2025 will be the first time in the super regional era (since 1999) that no team that made it to the College World Series the year before will be back in Omaha,’ Gerson said via X.

Six different conferences will be represented as well. Nobody has more than two, as the SEC has a pair of teams still alive to win a national championship. However, the former Pac-12 might have something to say about that, seeing Oregon State and UCLA in the field.

— On3’s Daniel Hager and Steve Samra contributed to this report.