Sam Ponder Giving Up Sideline Reporting To Spend Time With Family

Samantha Ponder is stepping away from her role as a college football sideline reporter, to focus more on her husband and family.

Ponder posted an update to her Instagram page saying she’ll no longer work as a sideline reporter during Thursday night ESPN telecasts.

Took this picture during halftime of an ASU/WSU game 2 years ago because an hour before game time I found out I was pregnant with Scout. It was the most nervous I've ever been doing a game because I couldn't stop thinking about how my life was about to change. All that to say, I decided to hang up my sideline reporter… uh… flats(?) so that I can spend more time investing in my husband, daughter and new dreams. Taking Scout away from her dad 5 days a week was incredibly difficult for me and Christian but I wanted to honor the commitment I made. Thank you to everyone w/Thursday Night Football & everyone at every school we covered who treated me with respect and kindness. I will never forget the last 4 years of games and more importantly, relationships. I will still be annoying you all day Friday & Saturday on CFBLive, Sportscenter & College Gameday. Thanks for all your support in this exciting new time for me and my family.

A photo posted by Samantha Steele Ponder (@samanthaponder) on Aug 13, 2015 at 6:59pm PDT

Ponder, who is married to Raiders quarterback Christian Ponder, mentioned she’ll still be involved with ESPN’s college football coverage, including Gameday on Saturdays. She joined ESPN in 2011 and began working Thursday night games in 2012.