Lane Kiffin’s LSU era started with all the theater you’d expect.
Before his first game in Baton Rouge, the Tigers’ new coach walked in with two of the program’s biggest celebrity fans beside him: former LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne and podcaster Theo Von. The scene fit the moment perfectly. LSU is entering the 2026 season with Kiffin bringing both hope and plenty of controversy, and the crowd seemed more than ready to lean into the spectacle.
ESPN captured the arrival, showing Kiffin, Dunne and Von together on the way to the stadium for Clemson-LSU.
Von and Dunne both make sense as familiar faces around LSU. Von was born and raised in Louisiana, spending time in Covington and Mandeville before attending LSU after high school.
He didn’t finish there, transferring not long after arriving. Von has said he attended seven colleges before eventually earning his degree at the University of New Orleans, but he’s stayed a devoted Tigers fan all the same.
Dunne’s connection is even more recent and more visible. She became a star at LSU as one of the gymnastics team’s headliners, then helped lead the Tigers to the 2024 national championship before graduating after her fifth year in 2025.
Her link to Kiffin has already been a running storyline. Since he was hired as LSU’s head football coach, the two have crossed paths multiple times.
In February, they were both at an LSU gymnastics event, where Dunne photobombed Kiffin’s TV interview. Kiffin also joined her for a TikTok video from that same meet.
The relationship even spilled onto social media when Kiffin suggested Dunne seek an injunction to return to college.
Von and Kiffin also had a connection long before this debut night. Kiffin appeared on Von’s podcast, “This Past Weekend,” in an episode released in April of 2025, months before Kiffin was ever considered for the LSU job. During that conversation, the two talked about how much Kiffin was enjoying his time as Ole Miss’s head coach.
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Clemson had warned LSU that putting the players on the field could run afoul of contract terms, and LSU still has room to add them later in the season if it chooses. For now, the situation leaves one more unresolved subplot around a game that already carries plenty of attention, especially with both players having previously played for Lane Kiffin at Ole Miss. [Read more 🡒]