Laura Rutledge’s 2026 couldn’t have gone any better. The ESPN broadcaster will have a key role in the NFL broadcast on the network. To add to that, Rutledge is also returning to her alma mater, the University of Florida, to host the 2026 Gator Growl.
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“I’m so excited, and for me, having been a part of the Gator Growl committee when I was a student and being part of organizing all of it – to think that however many years later, I can’t even do the maths!” Rutledge said on the WRUF with Steve Russell on August 17.
“I can be a part of it on the stage, which is just beyond comprehension for me, and to be able to co-host with Brandon Spikes, who you know was there when I was in college – we were interviewing Brandon, and we were following his incredible career and the national championship-winning teams, and it’s just surreal to me. So very special. I’m so excited to be back for homecoming weekend, and it’s just going to be a real blast.”
Rutledge served on the student talent committee for Gator Growl at UF before rising to broadcasting stardom. When Brandon Spikes was a legendary, two-time National Champion linebacker for the Florida Gators, Laura Rutledge was a student at UF’s College of Journalism. Rutledge arrived at the University of Florida back in 2007.
She heavily involved herself with UF-owned student media properties, serving as a reporter and host for WRUF and WUFT. She covered college football recruiting, participated in the legendary Tim Tebow media scrums, and won the prestigious 2011 Red Barber Award for Excellence in Broadcasting at UF.
While she has visited the campus occasionally for specific broadcast assignments, her return to Gator Growl 2026 comes 15 years after her graduation. Spikes shared his excitement on his official X account, posting, “Never in a million years did I think I’d be co-hosting Gator Growl! I’ll be taking the stage with Gator Great @LauraRutledge. Let’s make it a sell-out like the good old days!”
The announcement was first shared via the official UF Homecoming & Gator Growl Instagram account on August 16. Though she had an inkling, she kept it quiet after being asked in early summer to take the role.
She will co-host on October 9 in Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. She will share the stage with Florida Gators football legend Brandon Spikes and headlining comedian Nikki Glaser.
This homecoming follows a major pivot in her professional life. Rutledge recently stepped away from her decade-long position as the traveling host of SEC Nation. Scaling back her grueling college football travel allows her to manage a busy household as a mother of two. She is also preparing for ESPN’s NFL broadcast schedule, which culminates in Super Bowl LXI coverage.
Alongside this, she will also start her new journey in the NFL on September 14. On that night, she returns to the Monday Night Football broadcast team alongside Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Lisa Salters. She will host the regular-season opener featuring the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs. It leads directly into her highly anticipated assignment covering Super Bowl LXI in February 2027.