Retired College Administrator, 57, To Pose As Rookie For 2024 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

A 57-year-old retired college associate dean is one of seven finalists for the 2024 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.

A 57-year-old retired associate dean from Long Beach, California, will model for the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue after spending her younger days too afraid to wear a bikini.

The woman, identified as Nina Cash, was selected out of thousands of aspiring Sports Illustrated models. She has received support from younger women and men but credits her husband for encouraging her to follow her dreams when she got cold feet, WSB-TV reported. Cash’s husband took her photo and supported her decision to submit it to the contest.

The wife and mother of three girls responded to critics who alleged that her husband was the one who boosted her up to submit to the model search. “No — my husband encouraged me because I wanted to do it. Big difference.”

Cash added, “He didn’t say, ‘I want you to show everybody that you could wear a bikini at [57]’. He said, ‘Honey, if you want to do it, I support you 125%.’”

The 57-year-old said Kathy Jacobs — who in 2020 became the oldest Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue model—inspired her. Now, it’s Cash’s turn to inspire others, and she’s already doing that, according to the news outlet. She said that people have reached out to her about the impact that she has had on them. “I get a lot of people private messaging me [on social media] saying, ‘Thank you for making it OK to go gray.’”

Others have said, “‘Thank you for making it OK for a woman to be an educator or to have advanced degrees and still do something like this,’” Cash said, according to the news outlet.

The retired college associate dean-turned-model obtained academic degrees in negotiation, conflict resolution, peacebuilding, and human services. She also earned a doctorate in educational leadership. Her college administration experience spans 30 years.

Cash is one of seven finalists who will pose as rookies for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s 2024 issue. According to Sports Illustrated Swimsuit’s website, other winners who will be featured are Brittney Nicole, Achieng Agutu, Penny Lane, Jena Sims, Sharina Gutierrez, and Berkleigh Wright.