Sister Jean returns to March Madness.
Loyola-Chicago confirmed Tuesday that Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the 101-year-old chaplain of the school’s basketball team, will attend Friday when the Ramblers open the NCAA tournament against Georgia Tech in Indianapolis. The Ramblers won the Missouri Valley Conference championship and are number 8 in the Midwest region.
Sister Jean, who became an international celebrity during Loyola-Chicago’s 2018 Final Four race, has not attended the games since the coronavirus pandemic began. He prayed before the game for most of the season, but remained in a separate apartment with a residence in downtown Chicago.
Sister Jean will attend Friday’s game at Hinkle Fieldhouse, but will have no direct contact with the team. He noted that if the players ’parents can’t interact with them, they shouldn’t either. Sister Jean will have a nurse with her and a security guard who will help her escort her from a downtown Indianapolis hotel to the game. He said there is “no danger” for him to attend the match, but he will follow all guidelines.
“What they wanted to do was make sure all the safety factors were taken into account,” Sister Jean said during a video conference with reporters. “Sometimes people who haven’t been to the games, to the NCAA or even to March Madness, don’t know exactly what’s going on there. Sometimes they think it’s like a teen concert, where everyone around me and maybe No. have room to breathe.
“If I’m not supposed to go to the track, I won’t go. And I won’t cause any inconvenience.”
Sister Jean wanted to attend the tournament for weeks and lobbied until she got permission from the school.
“I had other offers from college people,” he said. “One student wrote and told me that her husband was willing to take me down. Another person told me he would take me out of college and another couple said they would kidnap me and Loyola should look for me. -me. “
Sister Jean has already filled out a parenthesis, but said she could still change it before the tournament starts. He noted that several well-known teams are not included – “I don’t see Kentucky anywhere” – while acknowledging the new teams that reached the 68 field.
She is not fond of the Loyola draw, especially in a possible second-round clash with the Illinois first team.
“I’m amazed that they put two Illinois schools together to go against each other instead of supporting each other,” he said.
Despite the difficult road, Sister Jean sets Loyola-Chicago to reach the Elite Eight. In 2016, he made the Ramblers move to the Sweet 16. He didn’t expect to attend another NCAA tournament to see the Ramblers.
Sister Jean has not been on the Loyola campus since March 11, 2020, when the pandemic hit. He has kept in close contact with coach Porter Moser and players via phone and email, but said it was “very difficult” to see him from his apartment.
“These young people keep me young, even though I’m 101, I consider myself young at heart,” he said.
Sister Jean also added: “In 2018, Loyola came on the map and everyone was happy. We also made people happy. I received letters from Germany and France, from different types of people, saying, ‘You brought a great joy in our country. “Now we need something to make us even happier than we did in 2018.”
Born August 21, 1919, Sister Jean joined the Convent of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Iowa after graduating from high school. He joined the Loyola-Chicago staff in 1991 and has served as chaplain to the basketball team since 1994.