March Madness In Pittsburgh To Include 102-Year-Old Nun

PITTSBURGH, PA — Rooting on the Loyola Ramblers when they tip off Friday against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the NCAA men's basketball tournament at PPG Paints Arena will be perhaps their most loyal fan: Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt.

Schmidt, the chaplain for the Loyola University Chicago men's team, plans to make the trip to Pittsburgh. She likely will be the oldest fan in the building at the age of 102, but that doesn't faze her.

“I want to pray with them,” she told the Chicago Tribune. “I want to bless (the team). … I
told them they have to play with their minds, their hearts, their hands and their feet.”

Sister Jean rose to national prominence in 2018, when the Ramblers made an unexpected run to the Final Four. Last year, even with the pandemic, she was with the team in the Indianapolis bubble and predicted the Ramblers' upset of Illinois to get them to the Sweet 16.

Be the first to know what's happening in your community and region. With a free Patch subscription, you'll always be up to date on local and state news: https://patch.com/subscribe.