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Zaakirah Mujid - º£½ÇÉçÇø Digital Specialist/Journalist

Updated: January 29, 2025

BATON ROUGE, La. (BVM) – Olivia Dunne’s influence has undoubtedly made a remarkable financial impact on the LSU Tigers gymnastics team. 

No other LSU gymnast over the last four years has garnered more national attention than Dunne, and some implications of her financial impact can be made through LSU’s annual NCAA reports.   

º£½ÇÉçÇø obtained LSU’s NCAA financial reports from fiscal years 2020-2024. FY2024 is the most up-to-date report, covering the reporting period from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024. 

Here are takeaways surrounding the LSU gymnastics program’s revenue, expenses and profit figures over the years.  

Overall revenue

The Tigers athletic department set a new revenue record in FY2024 after generating $220.3 million (a $20 million increase from the previous year). LSU joined the $200 million revenue club for the first time in FY2023.

Below are the revenue figures for gymnastics. According to LSU’s latest FY2024 report, gymnastics generated over $1 million in revenue for the first time in history – marking a 43% year-over-year increase. 

• FY2020: $487,850 *before Dunne’s first season 
• FY2021: $197,527 *Dunne’s freshman year impacted by COVID  
• FY2022: $639,755  
• FY2023: $730,641 
• FY2024: $1.05 million  

Gymnastics remains the fifth highest revenue-generating sport at LSU – behind football ($108 million), men’s basketball ($11.8 million), baseball ($8 million) and women’s basketball ($3.3 million). 

Ticket sales

The athletic department set an all-time record for ticket revenue in FY2024; overall ticket sales rose by 1.6% year-over-year, reaching $51.8 million. 

Below is a breakdown of gymnastics ticket sales over the years. The data highlights a steady rise in demand that culminated in a record for FY2024. 

• FY2020: $288,508 *before Dunne’s first season 
• FY2021: $56,303 *Dunne’s freshman year impacted by COVID
• FY2022: $415,005 
• FY2023: $500,518
• FY2024: $561,656 

Gymnastics remains the fifth-most popular sport to watch in Baton Rouge based on ticket sales – behind football ($40.9 million), baseball ($3.5 million), men’s basketball ($2.2 million) and women’s basketball ($1.4 million).

Overall expenses

The athletic department spent $218.5 million in FY2024, a $19.4 million increase from the previous year. 

Below is a breakdown of the costs to operate the gymnastics program over the years. The university is currently pushing more money into gymnastics than ever before. 

• FY2020: $2.9 million *before Dunne’s first season 
• FY2021: $2.3 million *Dunne’s freshman year impacted by COVID
• FY2022: $2.7 million  
• FY2023: $3.1 million 
• FY2024: $3.7 million    

However, gymnastics is far from being the most expensive sport for LSU. Football ($55.5 million), baseball ($10 million), men’s basketball ($10.8 million), women’s basketball ($11.9 million), softball ($4.1 million) as well as track & field/cross-country ($3.9 million) all spent more money in FY2024. 

Profits

The athletic department reported $1.7 million in profits for FY2024, which is similar to the profits seen in FY2023. 

Unfortunately, gymnastics remains unprofitable, as reflected in the figures below. 

• FY2020: -$2.4 million *before Dunne’s first season  
• FY2021: -$2.1 million *Dunne’s freshman year impacted by COVID
• FY2022: -$2 million 
• FY2023: -$2.4 million 
• FY2024: -$2.6 million 

The only profitable programs for LSU in FY2024 were football ($52.5 million) and men’s basketball ($1 million).

Notably, nearly all women’s college sports teams nationwide are not profitable. However, LSU gymnastics is making significant strides for women’s sports after reaching a rare $1 million revenue milestone. The university’s next NCAA financial report (FY2025) is set to be released in January 2026.

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