SHE’S GOING TO INDY
Sister Jean, 101, gets OK to go to NCAA tourney to watch Loyola play
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt will travel to Indianapolis to root on Loyola as the Ramblers try to make another Final Four run, the school confirmed Tuesday.
And she predicts Loyola will make the
Elite 8.
The beloved 101-year-old team chaplain, who became an international celebrity during Loyola’s March Madness breakthrough in 2018, had been pushing the NCAA and Loyola to approve her travel since the Ramblers clinched their spot by defeating Drake in the championship game of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
But there was uncertainty about whether that would happen, given the coronavirus protocols implemented for March Madness.
In its 10th season under coach Porter Moser, Loyola earned a No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region after an impressive 24-4 campaign. The Ramblers led the nation in fewest points allowed per game and won the MVC regular-season and tournament titles.
Sister Jean, who turned 101 last August, said at the time that her biggest wish for her birthday was to ‘‘leave [my apartment] and go to campus,’’ something she had been unable to do because of COVID-19.
“What they wanted to do was be sure that all the safety factors were taken into consideration,” Sister Jean said Tuesday during a videoconference with reporters. “Sometimes people who haven’t gone to the games or to the NCAA or even to March Madness, they’re not sure exactly what goes on there. Sometimes they think it’s like a teenage concert, where everybody’s going to surround me and might not have any breathing space.
“If I’m not supposed to go on the court, I’m not going to go. And I’m not going to cause any disturbance.”
The Ramblers will play their opener at 3 p.m. Friday against Georgia Tech.
Satchel Price