‘There’s Ache In My Heart': Laura Rutledge Gets Real On Giving Up College Football “Passion Project”
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Last month, ESPN’s Laura Rutledge announced she would no longer be continuing in her role as host of SEC Nation. Everyone understood it, considering Rutledge’s NFL responsibilities have grown over the last few years. However, for someone who has been associated with the college game for over a decade, the decision was extremely hard.
“I think most people are like, “Oh, cool. You’re moving on up,’ and the reality is there’s this ache in my heart for that show and having to think about stepping away from it,” Rutledge said on the June 14 episode of the Gramlich & Mac Lain show. And I’m so excited for Matt Barrie, who’s taking over. The show is in excellent hands… But that show has kind of been like my passion project for all these years.”
Rutledge joined SEC Nation as a reporter in 2016. However, within a year, ESPN named her the host after Maria Taylor left the show. For nine years, she has been the heartbeat of SEC broadcasting for college football fans. Even her most viral moments have come from the show.
During the Sugar Bowl last season, Rutledge was juggling two duties. She was a sideline reporter during the game and the host of SEC Nation during halftime. But there were only minutes between the halftime clock hitting and the start of her show. As a result, Rutledge was literally sprinting to reach the makeshift SEC Nation setup.
“If we’re being totally honest, there were other times years ago where they said, “Yeah, you know, you don’t really need to keep doing this anymore,” “You could do something else.” I’m like, I love this. I love waking up early on a Saturday and being with the guys and preparing the show and talking about college football and getting to interact with the fans and trying our best to bring the absolute best product to the fans at home and just feeling like we’re welcoming everyone in with open arms and we’re all a big family together,” Rutledge added.
The reality has yet to hit the ESPN journalist. There are still times when she finds herself thinking about the Week 1 2026 CFB season. However, with additional responsibilities under her new contract with ESPN, she had to cut back to spend time with her family.
As her career progressed, one thing that always bothered her was staying away from her kids. Rutledge is a mother of two, and the constant struggle of being away from them has left her feeling guilty about not being a good mother. But with her husband’s support, she could live her dream, as he stayed home with the kids and held the fort while she pursued her career.
“I will still be involved in college football. So, some of the big games, I’ll be on the sidelines, and I’m really thankful that ESPN was willing to let me continue doing that. I just think there’s nothing quite like the college football atmosphere, and I’m never ready to step away fully from that. I’ll never fully step out of college football. It’s too hard to,” Laura continued.
Laura Rutledge’s successor on SEC Nation
Matt Barrie is all set to take over the SEC Nation on Saturday mornings. The new gig is an additional role he took up for his love of college football. Having spent over 13 years with the network, Barrie has built an impressive resume, including SportsCenter and play-by-play duties. What will also help Barrie is that he already has an established dynamic with Paul Finebaum, who is one of the panelists on SEC Nation.
“I’m a college football junkie and beyond excited to host SEC Nation from the greatest game day atmospheres in the South,” said Barrie. “It takes me back to my years in Columbia, S.C., when Steve Spurrier was the head coach of the Gamecocks and getting to experience everything that makes the SEC and its schools one of a kind.”
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