LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne announces she will return to compete for a fifth year

Gymnast Olivia Dunne returns to compete for LSU for the fifth year.

Dunne, 21, announced her decision Monday on social media with the caption “no Dunne yet” and a video in which she read a letter to LSU fans featuring clips from her previous four years in competition.

Dunne, who competed on the uneven bars and floor exercise, was part of an LSU women’s gymnastics team that won its first national championship in school history in April. The Tigers finished first, ahead of Cal, at the NCAA championships. Utah and Florida finished third and fourth, respectively.

Dunne was also named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll in each of her four years at LSU.

Besides the chance to compete for another national title under coach Jay Clark, Dunne has some personally lucrative reasons to return to LSU for a fifth year. She’s one of the most marketable athletes in college athletics, with a massive social media following on TikTok and Instagram that surpasses that of any other NCAA competitor.

As a result, Dunne is among the top NIL earners among NCAA athletes, who are paid millions of dollars per year. She reportedly receives the most NIL income among female college athletes. She is one of the LSU athletes featured in an upcoming Prime Video docuseries about NIL titled “The Money Game,” along with Angel Reese, Jayden Daniels and Flau’Jae Johnson.