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Laura Rutledge
Rutledge in July 2018
Born	Laura McKeeman (1988-10-02) October 2, 1988 (age 36) St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Florida
Spouse	Josh Rutledge ​(m. 2013)​
Children	2
Beauty pageant titleholder
Title	Miss Florida 2012
Years active	2012–present
Major competition(s)	Miss America 2013

Laura Rutledge (née McKeeman; born October 2, 1988) is an American reporter and host for ESPN and the SEC Network. She is an American beauty pageant titleholder from St. Petersburg, Florida, who was named Miss Florida 2012.

Biography

She won the title of Miss Florida on July 7, 2012, when she received her crown from outgoing titleholder Kristina Janolo. Her competition talent was ballet. Rutledge is a graduate of the University of Florida, having majored in broadcast journalism. She was also a member of the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. She is currently working for ESPN and is featured in multiple shows, including the SEC Network's college football pre-game show, SEC Nation, and NFL Live.

Sports journalist

Rutledge worked for Fox Sports as a sideline reporter, previously covering Fox broadcasts of Tampa Bay Rays games and then San Diego Padres games. She also provided on-field reporting for the Fox College Sports coverage of the NCPA's 2012 National Paintball Championship in Lakeland, Florida. She joined ESPN and the SEC Network in summer 2014.

In 2014, Rutledge hosted the Coors Light PostGame show on Fox College Football and hosted halftime programming for FSN college football games.

Rutledge also hosted Chargers Insider for the San Diego Chargers in 2013 and SD Live. She was the producer and host of SDLive, an original show she started at Fox Sports San Diego.

On May 16, 2017 she was named host of SEC Nation on the SEC Network. On August 17, 2020, she became the host of ESPN's premier NFL show, NFL Live.

Personal life

She attended Celebration High School in Celebration, Florida. She married Josh Rutledge, a professional baseball player, in 2013. On October 2, 2019, Rutledge gave birth to a daughter, Reese Katherine Rutledge, and revealed that she and her daughter share the same birthday. On May 25, 2023, Rutledge gave birth to their second child and first son, Jack Alexander Rutledge. They live in a log cabin in suburban Connecticut that was purchased for $1.1M in 2021.

References

1. Perleberg, Brianne (2019-10-29). "ESPN's Laura Rutledge On Finding The Story Beneath The Surface". I Want Her Job. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
2. ^ McLeod, Mark (2013-01-22). "From Emeralds to Tiaras". Emerald Coast Magazine. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
3. ^ Rosenfield, Jeff (2011-07-22). "To Miss St. Petersburg, Beauty Pageants Aren't Everything". St. Pete, FL Patch. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
4. "New Miss Florida Laura McKeeman hopes to blaze trails for women in sports broadcast". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
5. Volk, Pete (2014-07-31). "Fowler, Tebow among notable ESPN lineup changes". SBNation.com. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
6. Staples, Andy. "Q&A with Laura Rutledge, who pivoted from ballerina to TV star almost by accident". The Athletic. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
7. "Laura Rutledge named SEC Nation host". SECsports.com.
8. Brooks, Amanda (2019-12-26). "Laura Rutledge's Hectic Fall Reaches Fever Pitch with College Football Playoff Semifinal". ESPN Front Row. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
9. Holleran, Andrew (2024-02-17). "ESPN's Laura Rutledge Announces Birth Of Her First Child". The Spun. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
10. Spencer, Adam (2019-10-03). "SEC Network's Laura Rutledge gives birth, shares name of new baby". Saturday Down South. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
11. Heim, Mark (2019-10-03). "SEC Network analyst Laura Rutledge gives birth to girl". al. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
12. Slater, Georgia (May 25, 2023). "ESPN's Laura Rutledge and Husband Josh Welcome Baby No. 2: 'Beyond My Wildest Dreams' (Exclusive)". Peoplemag. Retrieved 2024-02-17.
13. Mendoza, Jordan (June 5, 2023). "ESPN reporter Laura Rutledge announces birth of son: 'Our angel baby'". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-02-17.

External links

• Bio at ESPN's MediaZone
• Laura Rutledge on Facebook

• 1988 births
• Living people
• American beauty pageant winners
• CNN people
• College football announcers
• College basketball announcers in the United States
• ESPN people
• Major League Baseball broadcasters
• Miss America 2013 delegates
• People from St. Petersburg, Florida
• Tampa Bay Rays announcers
• University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications alumni
• 21st-century American women journalists
• 21st-century American journalists