Sister Dolores Jean Schmidt has been one of the most important and unique figures in men’s college basketball for her over-30-year career as team chaplain for the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers men’s basketball team. Many schools, specifically Jesuit institutions, have dedicated team chaplains who provide spiritual guidance and lead their teams in prayers before their games. Basketball powerhouses such as Gonzaga University and Marquette University participate in this practice, although their chaplains aren’t as iconic as Schmidt, who guides the Loyola Chicago Ramblers. 

Schmidt, known familiarly to Loyola Chicago fans as Sister Jean, was born and raised in San Francisco, California, before moving to Illinois in 1964 to work at Mundelein University, where she taught for nearly 30 years. Following a merger between Loyola and Mundelein, she began working as the chaplain for the men’s basketball team in 1994. Schmidt was a Ramblers fan years prior to joining the school and was in attendance to see the team win what was their most recent March Madness game in 1985. Loyola is not a particularly strong basketball program. They did win a national championship in 1963, but have only made the postseason seven times in the 63 years since their win.

Sister Jean was just as much of a basketball genius as she was spiritual leader for the Ramblers. She would often give the head coach of the Ramblers scouting reports for the teams they faced and would attend as many games as she could. Fans and faculty at Loyola Chicago quickly embraced Sister Jean and her dedication to the Ramblers, which has materialized into bobbleheads, a holiday dedicated to her, as well as pins with “Sr. Jean Superfan” printed on them. 

As the years went on, Sister Jean began earning fans outside of Loyola, which all came to a head during the 2018 season. Loyola had not been a competitive basketball team for years going into the tournament, including their 2012 season where they finished with one win compared to 17 losses in conference play. 2018, however, was a different story. The Ramblers played their way into March Madness with a 32-6 record, which was the most wins in a season in school history. As the eleventh seed, Loyola was slated to play the sixth-seeded University of Miami Hurricanes in the first round, a team that featured two future professional players in Bruce Brown and Lonnie Walker IV. The Ramblers kept the game close through the first half, but were down by two heading into the final seconds of the game. Senior guard Donte Ingram played hero that night, drilling a three to put Loyola ahead by two at the final buzzer. The day after Loyola’s win, the 16-seed University of Maryland-Baltimore County Retrievers knocked off the number one University of Virginia Cavaliers, marking history as the first time a 16-seed had ever won a tournament game. The spotlight was off of the Ramblers, but that would quickly change.

Their next game came against the third-seeded University of Tennessee-Knoxville Volunteers and their core of Admiral Schofield and Grant Williams. Loyola led through the first half, but fell behind until a tough midrange jumper from their leading scorer, Clayton Custer, put them ahead with six seconds for Tennessee to respond. After some good defense forced a deep three that missed long, Loyola had punched their ticket to the third round on their second game-winning three in a row. At this point, the college basketball world was becoming aware of what Loyola was capable of, and naturally, Sister Jean had become the face of their Cinderella story.

The Ramblers had become the fan-favorites going into their Sweet Sixteen game against the University of Nevada-Reno Wolfpack, a team led by former NBA head coach Eric Musselman and two future NBA players, Cody and Caleb Martin. For the third consecutive game, Loyola’s tournament hopes were decided by a single shot, attempted by Marques Townes this time. Nevada double-teamed Loyola’s leading scorer, Clayton Custer, to try and force a bad shot out of him. Instead, Custer kicked the ball to Townes in the corner, drilling the tough three to put the Ramblers up by four, a lead they would keep after a missed shot from Nevada. This win set them up to take on the ninth-seeded Kansas State University Wildcats, where the Ramblers won convincingly after Kansas State shot a combined 37.5% from the field. 

This brings Sister Jean and the Loyola Chicago Ramblers to San Antonio, Texas for the Final Four. They were slated to play against the third-seeded University of Michigan, a team that featured six future NBA players, most notably current New Orleans Pelican Jordan Poole. Loyola led 29-22 at the half, though they would eventually fall behind after Michigan’s Moritz Wagner put up 24 points on just 16 shots to go along with 15 rebounds. This would end the Ramblers’ season, but not before becoming the most beloved team of the tournament, with Sister Jean becoming the face of it all. Fans loved seeing a team credit their success to a 98-year-old nun who could drop everything and coach the team if they needed her to. 

Sister Jean was chaplain during the Ramblers’ returns to March Madness in 2021 and 2022, though they were unable to match their performance in 2018. She retired from her position as chaplain in September 2025, just one month after her 106th birthday. She passed away on Oct. 9, 2025. In the wake of her passing, the chaplain received an outpouring of support, including memorial posts from former president Barack Obama and her name displayed on the marquee outside of Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The university also announced that the Ramblers would be wearing jersey patches featuring Sister Jean’s likeness for the upcoming 2025-26 college basketball season.