Lee will become the first American Olympic all-around champion to go on to NCAA gymnastics—because she is the first one who doesn’t have to give up the possibility of taking money for endorsements or touring, after states pushed the National Collegiate Athletic Association into overhauling its eligibility rules.

She has long been committed to attend and compete for Auburn, where the gymnastics team’s head coach, Jeff Graba, is the twin brother of her coach, Jess Graba, in Little Canada, Minn. .

The idea of the Olympic all-around champion following through on a college commitment, though, would have been almost unthinkable until now. .