Social network combined with name, photo and portrait (ARE NOT) changed college athletics forever. That has been in place since NIL was made available to student-athletes starting July 2021. The influence of athletes on social media has only gained more traction over the years as platforms skew towards those with a higher volume large personal followers.
famous social network
There is currently no better example of that than the gymnast LSU Olivia Dunne. Don’t pretend like 99.9 percent you would know who she is if it weren’t for her millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram.
It would be irresponsible to say that Dunne only has a huge following because she is attractive and healthy. The junior publishes a lot of digital content and clearly knows how to market online.
Do a bank
Based on On3 . NIL Database, Dunne is the highest-earning female college athlete, earning $2.3 million to date. That tool estimates each of Dunne’s posts is worth $31,000. Dozens of her videos on TikTok last less than 10 seconds. That’s a pretty long time on the job. And at last Saturday’s LSU meetup with Utah, her followers, mostly rowdy college boys in Salt Lake City, made the Tigers make changes to their security details in the future.
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Security!
Moving forward, LSU gymnastics will have more security surrounding them at meets because of the behaviors shown by fans in Utah. This all comes from a meet Dunne attended, but didn’t compete at, because of injury. Raucous fans met LSU’s arrival with signs and cutouts of her. They chanted for her throughout the meet’s four rotations and their outlandish behavior disrupted other athletes’ routines. Silence from the crowd is common during the balance beam discipline.
A different kind of meet and greet
After the meet, videos can be seen of males lined up chanting “We want her” as well as Dunne’s name in anticipation of her leaving the arena. According to KSL.com Sports, the team’s bus had to move to avoid the crowd. Dunne commented on the crowd’s behavior the next day: “I will always appreciate and love the support from you guys, but if you come to a meet, I want to ask you to please be respectful of the other gymnasts and the gymnastics community as we are just doing our job,” Dunne tweeted.
Even LSU is linking to her social media
It’s also fair to say the school is well aware of Dunne’s following. Before listing any facts from her upbringing or athletic career, typical for college athletes, her social network is listed. Link to TikTok, Student-athlete’s Twitter, and Instagram from the school’s official profile is extremely rare. Curiously, second in On3’s NIL database of top earners is Auburn gymnast Suni Lee. Dunne and Olympic Gold Medal 2021 are the only female millionaires on the list. No additional security details were added to Lee’s meetings.
What will be the result next time?
LSU’s next game is tonight against Kentucky before two home games against Oklahoma and Missouri. No additional security features have been announced for events taking place in Baton Rouge. Due to fan behavior in Utah, I would be shocked if a current state of security was enacted in Kentucky and Louisiana.
