The news hit like the final buzzer of a long, glorious game: Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, Loyola Chicago’s beloved team chaplain, passed away at 106.
For anyone who watched the Ramblers’ Cinderella run to the 2018 Final Four, Sister Jean wasn’t just a mascot or a lucky charm. She was the conscience of college basketball for a moment when the sport desperately needed one — humble, sharp, witty, and powered by a kind of joy that no NIL deal or analytics model could measure.
She wasn’t on the court, but she was everywhere: in the pregame huddles, in the scouting reports she quietly slipped to the coaching staff, and in the prayers that ended with a smile and a “Let’s get that W.”
When Loyola stunned Miami, Tennessee, Nevada, and Kansas State in that unforgettable March, the cameras loved her. The country loved her. But what made Sister Jean’s story endure long after the brackets burst was her clarity about what mattered.
“What’s taking a picture?” she said once. “That’s not making me tired. It’s making me happy because I’m making others happy.”
That line says everything.
She taught for decades before she ever blessed a locker room. She coached girls long before women’s sports were celebrated. She embraced competition not as a sin to resist, but as a chance to test one’s faith in effort. When Loyola finally returned to the tournament in 2021, she was 101 and still game-ready — emailing players notes and watching live stats on her limited TV dial when she couldn’t find the broadcast.
In an era when college athletics too often forgets its mission, Sister Jean never did. She reminded us that spirit — literal and figurative — is part of the game plan. She prayed for fairness. She prayed for effort. She prayed that nobody got hurt. And somehow, those prayers felt like strategy sessions for life itself.
Sports have no shortage of icons. But Sister Jean transcended fandom. She wasn’t chasing clout; she was chasing purpose. She believed that showing up — with kindness, curiosity, and a bit of scouting — was the ultimate act of faith.
Her legacy isn’t measured in wins or banners. It’s in the millions who smiled watching her wheel into an arena wrapped in Loyola maroon and gold, and in the thousands of students who learned that faith and joy are better teammates than ego and fear.
Sister Jean’s last message to Loyola captured her perfectly: “I helped people and was not afraid to give my time … to teach them to be positive about what happens and that they can do good for other people.”
That’s not just a legacy. That’s a playbook.
Rest easy, Sister Jean — you’ve run the full court.
Photo courtesy of USA Today