Who is Sister Jean of Loyola-Chicago?

The 2022 NCAA Tournament is upon us, and the first round includes the last mid-major team to reach the Final Four in the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers. Cracking the field of 68 for the third time in the last five seasons, the soon-to-be-leaving the Missouri Valley program drew a No. 10 seed in The Big Dance. And whenever the Ramblers make it, we get to hear about their team chaplain and biggest fan Sister Jean. She has become an icon of the team through her presence and PR while watching them play.

Sister Jean has worked as the team’s chaplain since 1994, and turned 100 years old on August 21st, 2019. She rose to public fame in the 2018 NCAA Tournament with her support of the Ramblers as they upset both Miami and Tennessee on the way to becoming just the second mid-major school this century to reach the national semifinals.

The Ramblers and Sister Jean returned to the tournament in 2021, and she changed up her game by notably including a scouting report into her opening prayer. With the Ramblers set to take on the No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round, expect plenty of camera time for Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the most famous nun in Illinois.

She is expected to join the team in Pittsburgh once again for their NCAA Tournament run.