Olivia Dunne Criticizes Judging Changes After LSU Gymnastics’ Upset Loss To Arkansas

Week four of NCAA Gymnastics was a tough one for the Defending National Champions. After multiple shaky routines bogged down their total score, the No. 2 LSU Tigers fell to No. 17 Arkansas in a consequential SEC dual meet, 196.875 to 196.600. Led by superstar freshman, Olympic alternate Joscelyn Roberson, the Razorbacks’ win over the Tigers was their biggest upset win since 2011.

For LSU, the result could put a hitch in their bid for an SEC Regular Season title. The Tigers struggled on their signature events, most notably on floor. In 2024, they averaged a nation-leading 9.93 on floor. On Friday, they averaged a 9.77. Gymnast and influencer Olivia Dunne competed in the floor lineup, contributing a 9.700.

Though LSU was far from their best on Friday, the lower scores could be a consequence of college gymnastics’ new judging evaluation system. Initiated this season, coaching staff can now submit specific routines to the newly appointed judging SCORE board. If an inflammatory score is detected, the judges responsible could be demoted and barred from postseason assignments.

While fans and experts are largely celebrating this attempt at standardizing the sport’s judging, coaches’ and athletes’ opinions are mixed. After receiving “feedback from fans” sharing their confusion, Dunne took to X on Sunday to express her thoughts on the tighter scoring:

“I am sitting here watching NCAA gymnastics and the empty seats are concerning. I care deeply about the growth in women’s sports especially in the NCAA. If you want fans to enjoy the sport and increase viewership, you have to look at what makes the crowds go crazy,” Dunne shared. “People understand what a perfect 10 is and want people who do things that look great to be rewarded. Too many deductions taken at a judge’s discretion feels the same as watching a basketball game that’s constantly interrupted with penalties or a football game with flags on every play. At some point it feels negative and loses the entertainment factor that draws the crowd in. The number of questions I am currently getting from fans about the scoring is significant enough for me to share this concern. I love the art and intricacy of gymnastics but let’s get more eyes on the sport!”

“This is not about LSU this is about the sport,” she continued in a subsequent post. “I’m in my 5th year and I have an audience of casual fans so maybe I’m in a unique position to see what is happening with fans differently than people just looking at attendance numbers. Fans are confused. I also spend time raising money for female athletes and will always advocate for athletes. Making changes that can impact the entertainment value will affect athletes financially as well. Female sports in the NCAA have to focus on building crowd engagement to continue to get revenue support for the athletes.”

With a following of over 160,000 on X and over 8 million on TikTok, Dunne’s social reach is significant. However, her points were met with criticism from the gymnastics community.

Morgan Belvedere (Frazier), former NCAA Champion with the Florida Gators, disagreed with Dunne’s perspective in her own post. “10s are earned, not given,” Belvedere said. “Universities should focus on marketing their student-athletes and the sport better. Give fans a reason to show up outside of just school loyalty. The integrity of the sport should not be diminished for the sake of entertainment by giving out fake perfect scores.”

The gymnastics community was sweeping in their disagreement. One commenter, a retired NCAA judge and writer for College Gym News, shared their perspective as a practiced professional in the field: “gymnastics without deductions isn’t a sport.”

And while Dunne bemoaned “empty seats” and expressed a desire to “increase viewership,” the reality for NCAA Gymnastics is far more optimistic. NCAA Women’s Gymnastics is flourishing.

Just last week, Maryland Gymnastics shattered its attendance record, going from 2,207 (previous record) to 7,827 fans in their dual meet vs. UCLA. Big Ten Champion Michigan State also set an attendance record in their meet vs. Michigan. Though the Spartans typically compete in smaller Jenison Fieldhouse, they were moved to the larger Breslin Center for the rivalry clash – and boy, did the fans show up.

That’s not all. In 2025, Coach Jordyn Wieber’s Arkansas Razorbacks received a huge boost. In response to the team’s growing popularity on the Fayetteville campus, the Razorbacks’ meets were permanently moved from Barnhill Arena (capacity of roughly 9,000) to Bud Walton Arena (capacity of roughly 19,000). In Friday’s upset win over LSU, the Razorbacks set their student attendance record.

While attendance is up, so is viewership. In 2023, the NCAA Gymnastics National Championship set a viewership record, with 1.02M viewers tuning in – the most since 2007 (Sports Business Journal). With countless Olympic stars and national contenders headlining the current season, 2025 could set records as well. This season is ESPN’s “most expansive” gymnastics season in history, with over 60 meets and around 100 “live hours” slated for viewers nationwide.

Interestingly, Dunne alleges that tighter scoring is to blame for “empty seats,” insinuating that “too many deductions taken” can lower the sport’s “entertainment value.” While entertainment is a welcome bonus while watching elite athletics, gymnastics is – first and foremost – a sport.

The goal of the new judging evaluation system is to “to create a level playing field of scores across the country.” A level playing field is much needed. For years, fans, coaches, and experts have bemoaned NCAA Women’s Gymnastics judging. In 2022, 71 perfect tens were awarded. In 2023, there were 84. In 2024? 87. In recent years, the “perfect ten” had become more of a commonality than a rarity. When that commonality only applies to certain teams, even more issues arise.

In a vacuum, high scores aren’t an issue. Unfortunately, scoring quality tends to vary across conferences. Together, the SEC and now-realigned Pac-12 conference accounted for around 66% of all perfect scores received from 2023 to 2024. For reference, of the 63 Division I programs in college gymnastics, the SEC and Pac-12 represented just 16 of them. Gymnastics had a judging issue, and it still does.

While athletes like Dunne are justified in reacting to disappointing scores, “creating a level playing field” should always be the priority. As Belvedere stated succinctly, “the integrity of the sport should not be diminished for the sake of entertainment.”