Laura Rutledge’s journey to becoming a prominent sports reporter is well-publicized. However, while a lot of people are aware of the timeline of her career, few know what it took for a former Miss Florida to secure her dream job at ESPN. It involved some training reps and a few desperate measures.

“Right after college, I had an opportunity with FOX Sports Florida,” Rutledge narrated on the June 14 episode of the Gramlich & Mac Lain YouTube show. “So, I did a lot of Rays baseball coverage for them for a couple of years. I was also doing some college football recruiting coverage at that time for Scout.com, which was affiliated with FOX. Then, I got an opportunity to go to FOX Sports, San Diego, when I was 24.”

Rutledge took the San Diego gig because she wanted to gain hosting reps early on. Moreover, it was the only place that was willing to take a punt on a young person. That was the stepping stone to where Rutledge wanted to reach. And that opportunity finally arrived in 2014.

“I found out that the SEC Network was launching in 2014. So, this was 2013. I find out it’s launching in 2014. And when I tell you guys, I think I sent like 27 emails to anybody that had an ESPN in their email address. I was probably sending somebody an email that was in charge of the cafeteria, because I’m like, ‘This person is going to be my in,'” Rutledge revealed.

Sending 27 emails to random people in a company is a move many will call desperate. However, if you don’t have any industry connections or aren’t a former athlete/head coach, that level of desperation is often necessary. But it didn’t work for Rutledge, as she didn’t hear from anyone at ESPN.

With Rutledge, her marriage to Josh Rutledge was another hurdle she had to deal with. It was not a problematic marriage, but it did require her to relocate to Atlanta and give up her job at FOX Sports.

Starting from scratch brought her some good fortune in the long run: she got a role at CNN. At CNN, she was the host of World Sports, where she had to report on several sports she was barely knowledgeable about, such as cricket and the Bundesliga. While many would see this as a challenge, Laura embraced the role. And ultimately, it led to her desired job.

During her stint with CNN, over a year after her numerous emails, some people from the SEC Network reached out to her, and in 2014, she got her dream job.

ESPN’s “tiny little contract”

The dream job did not seem like a dream job at first. Her ESPN job came with terms and deals that were hardly favorable at the start, but just as her story had been laced with lessons from the very start, her first few years at ESPN were another episode of learning, growing, and determination.

“I do the interview, I think I bombed it,” Rutledge admitted. “I’m like, ‘Well, I guess I’m working for CNN. This is not going to happen.’ So, they ended up hiring me. It was a 12-event contract. It was a tiny little contract for 12 events… Anyway, that first year at the SEC Network, I did 68 events on a 12-event deal because I just kept saying, ‘I will do anything… I think that ultimately was sort of what led to more opportunities.”

Now, Laura has gotten so many more opportunities that she recently had to step down from her role at the SEC Network to make room for her other commitments and her family duties.