Before Biles was a professional gymnast, she had verbally committed to UCLA in 2014, planning to enroll after the 2016 Rio Olympics. Instead, she elected to turn professional in 2015, forfeiting her NCAA eligibility. Biles also addressed her UCLA commitment during her graduation speech.

Simone Biles stood on a gold podium, addressed a crowd of thousands and admitted she was a little nervous. Biles then gave a performance several minutes longer than any of her gymnastics routines. She spoke for 12 minutes at Washington University in St.