Loyola Chicago men's basketball chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt will be cheering on the Ramblers in person when they open the NCAA Tournament against Georgia Tech on Friday.
The 101-year-old, who rose to fame during the Ramblers' 2018 run to the NCAA Final Four, told the Loyola Phoenix student newspaper she's "very grateful" after receiving approval to join the team in Indianapolis this week; she had petitioned school administrators to allow her to attend the tournament.
"I said, 'I'm not giving up,'" she said. "I'm like the old woman in the gospel, going to the judge so many times, and they finally say, 'Give her her way.'"
Despite receiving both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, Sister Jean won't be permitted inside the locker room to pray with the Ramblers in person. She'll instead call in before tipoff to perform the pregame ritual.
"I really wanted to go badly," she said. "I also understand that Loyola was worried about safety for me. But the kind of people who go aren't rowdy people, of course; they're parents, relatives, and of course fans from the schools. They're just really on a big high because their school is there. They're not out to harm anybody."
