Livvy Dunne believes gymnastics national championship would mean 'the world' to LSU

LSU Tigers gymnast Livvy Dunne has become one of the biggest figures in college athletics, in large part because of how she’s been able to capitalize on her NIL. Even with all that, being able to compete at LSU and potentially win a championship is still incredibly important to Dunne.

It’s been an excellent season for LSU gymnastics and the Tigers are in a good position to win a championship this season. With that in mind, Dunne shared that she believes a gymnastics national championship would be incredibly impactful at LSU.

“It would mean the world to this team and this university,” Livvy Dunne said on SportsCenter. “It’s an unprecedented area for LSU gym to win the national championship. I just think it would be so special for Tiger Nation.”

LSU is currently ranked second in the country for gymnastics, with a team national qualifying score (NQS) of 197.845 this season. The Tigers also have a team high score of 198.475. Those are the best numbers in the SEC and are only behind Oklahoma nationally.

For her part, Livvy Dunne has plenty of experience at LSU and within the program. Now a senior for the Tigers, she’s been appearing in meets for LSU since 2021 and is known in particular for her ability on the bars. That experience allows her to have a better view of the big picture. It also means that she’s running low on opportunities to be a part of a championship.

When her time does run out, there’s plenty that Dunne is going to miss about the gym. However, as she explained, there is one thing that she isn’t going to miss about the gym.

“Probably the conditioning,” Dunne said. “I don’t like lifting weights really. It’s a love/hate relationship and I’ve learned to kind of love it this year because this is the best physical shape I’ve been in since I’ve been in college.”

Livvy Dunne dishes on her social media strategy

Part of how Livvy Dunne became so well known is her social media strategy. That’s something that she broke down while she was on SportsCenter.

“It was surreal. I mean, I’ve been on a billboard before in Times Square for NILSU and that was for a few hours, which was amazing. But now I’m the face of the brand Nautica and I’m on a huge billboard in New York right now, and I mean, it was just unreal to see that in person and I feel like my dreams are coming true before my eyes,” Dunne said.

“There’s definitely a strategy behind it. It was over quarantine when it really blew up for me. And from there, I had the help of my mom and my sister managing me and my time and just having the right people around me. It’s been one of the biggest blessings in my life.”