We suppose it was only a matter of time before LSU football coach Lane Kiffin and former Lady Tigers gymnast Olivia Dunne crossed paths.
Dunne graduated from LSU in December 2024 ending her five-year collegiate gymnastics career, while Kiffin is just getting his head coaching stint with the Tigers started. But somehow, some way, the two were both seen during LSU’s home gymnastics meet against Alabama on Friday night.
Kiffin was getting interviewed by SEC Network about his coaching role when Dunne popped into the background and photobombed for the camera. Kiffin later shared that funny moment on his social media account and joked Dunne was being a “clout chaser.”
Livvy Dunne and Aleah Finnegan photobomb @Lane_Kiffin’s interview at LSU vs. Alabama Gymnastics. pic.twitter.com/irQOol6hky
— TigerDroppings (@TigerDroppings) February 28, 2026
Then one thing led to another, and for whatever reason, Kiffin and Dunne decided to post a TikTok video together shortly afterward. The 23-year-old shared a new video on her account in which Kiffin suggested Dunne was missing the thrill of gymnastics. “You wish that was you, huh,” Kiffin (via a voice-over) said to Dunne as they both watched LSU’s meet.
Kiffin reshared the video with the cheeky caption, “We can get you an injunction now a days.” Dunne has since responded, joking that she was heading into her “12th year senior szn.”
12th year senior szn incoming https://t.co/tWOYIFUY3w
— Olivia Dunne (@livvydunne) February 28, 2026
What a strange crossover between two stars that managed to break into the news cycle on a slow Saturday afternoon.
Dunne was a member of the Tigers gymnastics team that won LSU’s first-ever NCAA national championship back in 2024 and arguably became one of the school’s most well-known names with over 13 million followers on TikTok and Instagram combined. In 2025, Dunne’s NIL deals were valued at $4.1 million, making her the No. 1-ranked women’s athlete and fourth-ranked athlete overall behind only Arch Manning, Carson Beck and Cooper Flagg. She announced her retirement from the sport in April 2025 after suffering a knee injury that cut her final LSU season short.
Kiffin, on the other hand, is not as widely liked. The ex-Ole Miss coach joined LSU in November 2025 following a drama-filled exit from the Rebels, which left some of his former players “heartbroken.”
“I was pretty upset,” former Ole Miss defensive lineman Zxavian Harris said at the NFL scouting combine last week. “A lot of people, like younger cats, they were there for Kiffin and stuff. And since Kiffin left, they were just heartbroken.”
“When Kiffin was there, he was telling us like almost every day, don’t believe the rumors,” Harris added. “... He told us not to believe the rumors. We should have believed it, and he just left out of nowhere.”
It looks like both Kiffin and Dunne are now looking ahead to new chapters of their lives. Hopefully for everyone’s sake they keep their future TikTok collabs to a minimum.
More College Football on Sports Illustrated
- Former Penn State Star Trace McSorley Leaves Nittany Lions Staff for NFL Opportunity
- Mirages of 2020: Revisiting 10 Pandemic Sports Breakouts After Wayne Tinkle's Firing
- Indiana’s D’Angelo Ponds Says Curt Cignetti Called His Shot on National Title in 2024
- USC Reportedly Has a Plan to Keep Some Old Pac-12 Rivalries Alive
This article was originally published on www.si.com as LSU’s Lane Kiffin Made His First TikTok With Livvy Dunne, And It Was What You’d Expect.
