It's Livvy's World

With more than 13 million social media followers and a seven-figure paycheck, gymnast Olivia Dunne is the future of college sports.

- KAYLA WEBLEY ADLER

On July 1, 2021, Louisiana State University gymnastics star Olivia Dunne was in Times Square staring up at a 73-foot-tall version of herself. A video clip that played on the massive billboard above showed the most-followed athlete in college sports starting a flip on a beach on TikTok and transitioned to her sticking a landing in LSU’s arena, her arms lifted triumphantly overhead.

The campaign, which was paid for by LSU and spotlighted other university athletes as well, was a victory lap following the NCAA’s decision to overturn its 115-year prohibition on student athletes earning money for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). “That was the moment my life changed forever,” Olivia tells me as she sips a drink outside a campus Starbucks on a sunny spring day in Baton Rouge. LSU had taken fourth place at the national championships the weekend before, and she was enjoying a rare moment of downtime, dressed casually in black leggings and a cropped T-shirt. If not for the Prada bag slung on her chair, she’d be indistinguishable from the other students passing by. Pausing to reflect on that Times Square moment, she adds, “That was surreal. I didn’t really know what was to come, but I knew it was going to be special.”