Women’s sports are growing significantly every year, and LSU takes that to a whole new level.

LSU gymnastics was the team to debut the crown. It was placed on the head of a gymnast after receiving a perfect 10, but it originates from the “stick crown” tradition as far back as 2018.

In 2024, the gymnasts brought home the crown and a national title from Fort Worth, which has helped shape the idea that the crown belongs to the Tigers. 

It wasn’t just used in gymnastics. Also in 2024, the softball and women’s basketball teams donned the crown in fairly successful seasons.

To join the camaraderie that LSU gym started, the softball team began wearing a crown when one of the players hit a home run. First to be crowned was former utility Raeleen Gutierrez.

The team mantra for the season was “deal us in,” but the goal was perfection from the Bayou Bengals from all sides of the ball. The crown just helped drive the point home.

The women’s basketball team leaned into the crown as well, but in a different way than the others. The crown was used in promotions for star player Angel Reese. 

Instead of using it for the team like gymnastics and softball, basketball used it to hype up the fans. The use of the crown brought attention to Reese outside of her stardom on the court.

Even if you didn’t follow the 2023 women’s basketball season, you probably heard about Reese and her nickname “Bayou Barbie.”

Reese was seen as a leader on the court in the 2024 season and held to extremely high standards, but it’s safe to say that the crown worked for her. 

As she left LSU for the WNBA, a farewell social media post even highlighted Reese wearing the crown.

But it didn’t end with the 2024 sports season; in 2025, gymnastics returned with the team’s motto being “protect the crown.” As the reigning national champions, the goal was to go back-to-back; more importantly, it was to continue striving for perfection.

“We talk about our theme of the year being ‘protect the crown,’” gymnast Sierra Ballard said in a press conference. “The crown represents the legacy of LSU gymnastics. It represents all of the alumni that have come before us and that have set the stone and set the pavement for us to build upon. We wouldn’t be able to climb it if they didn’t build the pavement, and so it’s just kind of being able to represent everything that they’ve built.”

The crown usage doesn’t stop there. Even the smaller women’s sports began to lean into the new tradition.

Indoor volleyball tried on the crown in 2023, captioning a social media post “Crown her Queen” about outside hitter Jurnee Robinson being named the South Regional Freshman of the Year. In 2025, the media day pictures were filled with the crown. 

While the crown has symbolized perfection in other sports, in volleyball, it represents reaching the top. Head coach Tonya Johnson said in a podcast interview that the team’s main goal was to build a foundation for future teams. The crown could represent the motivation this team needs to push them in the right direction.

“One of the things that my staff and I have taken a lot of pride in is just building this thing right,” Johnson said. “I really and truly feel like we have the pieces this year to have a very successful season.”

LSU soccer followed a similar pattern to volleyball, utilizing the crown for media while trying to raise the standards from past seasons. 

Head coach Sian Hudson said before the first game of the 2025 season that the goal is to compete in championships, similar to softball’s mantra from 2024, but instead of “deal us in,” it’s “strike gold.”

“Expectations are high this season,” Hudson said. “We have an experienced group of returners who are key to our success, as well as talented newcomers who have already made a strong impression. We believe this is the year we can ‘strike gold’ and compete for championships.”

Something as small as a crown symbolizes the birth of a dynasty, and LSU looks to be at the forefront of the future of women’s sports. Gymnastics started a trend that has become iconic among Tiger athletics, and it doesn’t appear to be going away anytime soon.