Livvy Dunne, Queen of the NIL — Other gym news — Thoughts from Amanda Borden via 12News KPNX (Arizona)
By Lela Moore
The IX: Gymnastics Saturday with Lela Moore, July 29, 2023
Happy gymnastics Saturday! When I heard that Elle interviewed Olivia (Livvy) Dunne, I was wary. The most-followed athlete in the NCAA has gotten a bad rap from the press this year. But this article, published Tuesday, gets it right.
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The Elle story touches on Dunne’s beauty and bank account, of course, but it emphasizes most the talent that has allowed her to parlay the former into the latter. And not just her gymnastics talent, but her very real talent as a social media producer. We see how having parents who encouraged her adoption of tech from a young age led her to create gymnastics-focused content that really took off during the pandemic. Dunne was the right age to benefit from NIL, as her sophomore year at LSU was the first in which NCAA athletes could make money off their name, image and likeness, but it was not just that piece of luck that has made her successful. She studies her analytics and employs her sister (who has a budding business herself helping athletes grow their NIL businesses online) as a video editor. The article also notes that Dunne is on the academic honor roll at LSU, and while injuries have hampered her gymnastics career, she continues training and travels to meets with her team.
And the article also tells us what Dunne is sacrificing to maintain her standing as both a student and an athlete. She does not take in-person classes, and the LSU team had to hire full-time security last season after a scary incident at Utah when fans gathered outside and screamed for Dunne.
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It is refreshing to see an article about Dunne that highlights what it truly takes to make it as an NIL superstar. It isn’t just about looks or a leotard (which, Elle also reminds us, is Dunne’s work uniform). It requires a real business sense. And it may mean, as it does for Dunne, not being able to fully immerse oneself in either college or athletic life to protect yourself and your teammates.
The article also touches on the Livvy Fund, an NIL collective founded by Dunne to help other female athletes secure endorsement deals. It would be easy for Dunne to take her money and run, but she is using it for the greater good. “This is just the beginning,” Dunne is quoted as saying about the possibilities of the Livvy Fund and NIL. She is right, and I am glad that this story was able to capture a fuller picture of how it all started.
Other gym news
The Gymternet has a nice article on Ana Perez, who won the AA title at the Spanish national championships this week after a comeback from breaking both her ankles in a freak gym accident in 2021.
College Gym News has a review of the last week in the NCAA and a cool data-driven article about what criteria can be used to determine the greatest college gymnasts ever.
The Balance Beam Situation brings us an update on some of the happenings in the gym world this week.
NC State hired former Alabama gymnast Emily Gaskins as an assistant coach.
If you want to keep up with the European Youth Olympic Festival, it’s livestreaming here, you can see the nominative registration here and the women’s start list here. By the time you read this, only the beam and floor event finals will remain, but it’s worth a watch!
Helen Kevric of Germany won her second consecutive EYOF AA gold. Check out her bars!
And you can catch the livestream of the 2023 Summer Universiade here next week!
Gabby Douglas signed with WME Sports, which also represents Olivia Dunne.
Check out Imani White’s impressive (and original!) Onodi-front tuck beam combo. White trains at Brandy Johnson Gymnastics.
Speaking of beam, just Riley McCusker things.
Simone Biles and Zoe Miller made an undercover bars training vlog.
Social post of the week
Biles, Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles make appearances in Dolly Parton’s video for her cover of “We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You,” which was created as Olympic publicity.
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Five at The IX: Amanda Borden via 12 News KPNX
Amanda Borden, who with the rest of the Magnificent Seven won Olympic gold at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, was interviewed by 12News KPNX out of Phoenix, Arizona (where Borden lives) on the 27th anniversary of the team event that catapulted her to gymnastics fame.
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