LSU Gymnast, NIL Superstar Announces Return For Fifth Year

Livvy Dunne will use her remaining year of eligibility to try and help the LSU Tigers defend their NCAA title.

Feb 2, 2024; Baton Rouge, LA, USA; LSU Lady Tigers senior Olivia \"Livvy\" Dunne performs a floor routine against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. / Matthew Hinton-USA TODAY Sports

One of college gymnastics’ biggest stars — and highest NIL earners — announced on Monday that she is returning for a fifth year at LSU.

Livvy Dunne, who just helped LSU win the national championship in the spring, hit social media to let Tigers fans know that she would return to help the Tigers defend their title.

On Instagram, on a video captioned “Not Dunne Yet,” the LSU star announced her intention return with a montage of highlights from her career with the Tigers.

The Tigers’ national championship earlier this year was a program first and came after she missed much of the 2022-23 season with injuries that included two torn labrums, a torn bicep and a stress reaction in her leg.

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Dunne can return for a fifth year thanks to a COVID waiver, as she started her college career in 2020. This summer she’s primarily been in Pittsburgh, supporting her boyfriend, former LSU star Paul Skenes, who is a rookie with the Pirates. He was just selected to his first All-Star Game.

But, this fall, it’s back to LSU for Dunne, who is one of the biggest winners in Name, Image and Likeness in the past three years.

Dunne’s NIL valuation per On3.com is $3.9 million. The only college athlete with a higher valuation is Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders at $4.6 million.

But Sanders can’t compete with Dunne’s visibility. She has 13.2 million followers on social media and that has allowed her to leverage NIL like few college athletes.

Her most recent deal with Passes, a new social media engagement platform, was reportedly a multi-million-dollar deal. Earlier this year she also inked a deal with sportswear company Nautica.

She has also used deals with partners like Accelerator Active Energy to fund NIL deals for her teammates through her Livvy Fund. She helped facilitate a deal that allowed eight LSU athletes to serve as ambassadors for the Accelerator Active Energy Brand — Konnor McClain, the reigning all-around national champion, along with Ashley Cowan, Jillian Hoffman, Chase Brock, KJ Johnson, Haleigh Bryant, Sierra Ballard and Kiya Johnson.

Her Livvy Fund is under the Bayou Traditions umbrella, which is the official NIL collective for LSU.

Dunne’s success as a gymnast and as a brand ambassador caught caught the eye of Sports Illustrated, which put her and former LSU basketball star Angel Reese on their magazine cover for its “Money” issue.

Dunne and Reese also appeared in SI’s annual swimsuit issue.