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College Basketball|Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, Loyola Basketball Superfan and Team Chaplain, Dies at 106
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/10/sports/ncaabasketball/sister-jean-dolores-schmidt-dead.html
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She led the Ramblers’ players in pregame prayers, pointed out opponents’ strengths and weaknesses and supported the team in N.C.A.A. tournaments.
Oct. 10, 2025Updated 1:19 a.m. ET
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, who became a sports-world celebrity as the chaplain, No. 1 fan and informal scout for Loyola University Chicago basketball teams that played in a pair of N.C.A.A. national championship tournaments, died on Thursday. She was 106.
Her death was announced by the university.
Amid the hoopla accompanying March Madness, the story of a nun and her support for players some 80 years her junior made for an uplifting tale.
A member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or B.V.M., Sister Jean, as she preferred to be known, was retiring from her job as a student adviser at Loyola in 1994 when Father John Piderit, Loyola’s president at the time, asked if she would remain on campus to help athletes maintain good grades. She agreed and was named chaplain of the men’s basketball team soon after.
Players whose grades were merely average saw Sister Jean weekly to discuss their problems. One player said she helped him construct essays and another said she coached him on time management.
As chaplain, Sister Jean led the Loyola Ramblers in pregame prayers, asking God to bless the hands that would be used for shooting and rebounding. She also studied box scores of upcoming opponents’ games and pointed out strengths and weaknesses for the Loyola coach and players.
When Loyola surprised the collegiate basketball world in 2018, reaching the semifinals of the N.C.A.A. tournament before losing to Michigan, Sister Jean, at 98, was sought out for interviews and became known far beyond the campus.
