For Olivia Dunne, life is pretty good right now. Bringing the NCAA gymnastics trophy to LSU for the first time in program history, Dunne and her squad are enjoying somewhat of a celebrity status in Baton Rouge. On top of that, Livvy’s personal success using NIL (name, image, likeliness) is paving new paths for collegiate stars of the country. And yet, she can’t ignore how things could be much better than they are.

Dunne is one of the most popular names in the collegiate sports circuit of the USA. With a total of 13.4 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, the reigning national champ sits comfortably atop a $6 million valuation, only second on the NIL list. But even she believes that equality is a concept that stretches far and wide when it comes to making use of the NCAA regulation.

Livvy recently sat down for an interview with FLAUNT to talk about how her life has changed for the better after securing deals with Nautica and Passes. During the conversation, the Tigers star also revealed how women athletes are still overlooked by NIL when it comes to providing an equal platform. “Women’s sports, in general, it’s quite unfair still with NIL,” Dunne said in her interview, noting that there’s still room for improvement if the NCAA really wishes to promote all-around growth for all collegiate athletes.

Along with that, she also expressed her dissatisfaction about how the available funds are always channeled elsewhere while women’s sports limps forward. “A big school like LSU [has] collective money. None of it goes to women’s sports. Most of the collective money goes to football, basketball, baseball—the men’s sports,” she frowns. But she also has ideas for herself to change the situation.

With the ‘Livvy Fund’, launched in 2023, the 22-year-old star aims to provide her female colleagues the ability to control their own destinies. It allows her brand partners to donate to NIL, which in turn helps female LSU athletes to make their collegiate careers more financially beneficial. While she continues her effort to make the NIL and the NCAA more inclusive, Olivia Dunne will also have a lot on her plate for her final year with the Tigers.

Olivia Dunne’s own tryst with NIL

When Livvy announced her return for a final ride, fans were understandably elated. Dunne has also reiterated how she now wishes to become a member of the LSU team that also successfully defends its national silverware for the first time. And yet, despite her elaborate dream, NIL continues to be one of the major factors she needs to take into consideration for her collegiate career.

While NIL deals can be enticing, Dunne is determined to understand its finer points before making a decision. And yet, she understands how it can be difficult for newcomers, especially female athletes, who have very few options to choose from.

“I know at first how confusing that can be for a lot of especially girls because there’s not a lot of NIL opportunities for the women’s athletics in the first place,” Olivia Dunne recently said, while in a conversation with Flau’jae Johnson.

Even LSU head coach Jay Clark knows how difficult things can get for the girls. “For our sport, there’s no NBA, there’s no NFL,” he said about the sad state of affairs that reigns over college gymnastics. What about you? What are your thoughts on the NIL and its treatment of female athletes? How would you like to see Olivia Dunne guide her successors to make the right decision?

Drop a comment below.