Editor’s note: This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s bureau of leadership, personal development and performance through the lens of sports. Follow Peak here.
During the 2018 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, when the Loyola University Chicago Ramblers advanced to the Final Four as an 11-seed Cinderella, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt — the team’s 98-year-old chaplain — quickly captured the hearts of fans around the world.
“Well,” she joked to the coaching staff, “I’m international now.”
Long before the rest of the world met Sister Jean, she was a beloved figure on campus and throughout the Chicago community. From 1991 she worked at the university for more than thirty years. Three years later, she became the academic advisor to the men’s basketball team and the official team chaplain. From then on, she guided and mentored employees and students until her retirement last month. Sister Jean died on Thursday at the age of 106.
She was known for being friendly but blunt, praying for the players’ success and reminding them to make their free throws.
“She was truly one of the greatest people I have ever known,” former player Tom Welch said in an interview Friday.
Known for her many roles on campus, Sister Jean became an international celebrity in 2018 @MarchMadnessMBB tournament, supervised by the @RamblersMBB when they reached the Final Four for the first time in 55 years. Read more about Sister Jean’s legacy: https://t.co/YouMW1aiQx
— Loyola University Chicago (@LoyolaChicago) October 10, 2025
Here are three lessons from the people in the basketball program who knew Sister Jean best:
1. Stand up for people
Most nights after games, former Loyola athletic director John Planek would go to his car in the nearby parking garage and even in the middle of Chicago’s harsh winters, he would turn around and see Sister Jean walking to her home across the street.
“She’s there alone, walking in the middle of campus,” he said. “At that point she would be in her late 80s or 90s.”
The next morning, he said, you’d find her back on campus, looking for someone to talk to.
Sister Jean’s office was located outside the shuttle bus stop for students traveling between Loyola’s two campuses. She tried to greet everyone and always left her door open so students knew they could come in and talk.
“Sister Jean knew all the children’s names,” Planek said. “She wasn’t just someone who interacted with our athletic department, it was all students. I will always remember how she consistently showed up for people.”
Welch, the former player, said Sister Jean would attend the full 2- to 2.5-hour basketball practices each day.
“That showed how much she cared about everyone,” he said. “For us players, we were running up and down the floor, but we were always a little bit in awe of her ability to be everywhere at once. That’s always motivated me personally, her consistency of showing up and being a bright light despite getting a little bit older.”
Sister Jean was 100 years old when Welch came to Loyola as a freshman, and he was shocked that she knew the names, jersey numbers and hometowns of the new players before they had even spent a week together on campus. Now, looking back, it just makes sense.
“She always made time to really support and show how believing in a team and a program and believing in being part of something bigger than yourself makes a difference to those around you,” Welch said.
2. Passion is contagious
After Mass on campus some days, former Loyola men’s basketball head coach Jim Whitesell would go to breakfast with his wife and sister Jean.
“We had a lot of good conversations and some very good meals,” he said. “You would get to hear a little bit about what she was thinking about that day. You always learned something, and you always laughed because she was very funny.”
It wasn’t until games rolled around that he realized she wasn’t to be messed with either.
“The first time I heard her say the pregame prayer, I almost fell off my chair,” he said.
Her pregame prayers started out pretty standard and expected. But then Sister Jean would give his opinion on the match ahead. Whitehall remembered it sounding something like this:
“Let’s make sure we keep an eye on No. 3 because he can shoot from the rafters, and then No. 10, we have to physically shut him out. Let’s do a good job of that and then of course let’s pray for the officials. We want to make sure they do a good job for us tonight.”
She spent time before games doing her own research on teams and had her own scouting report.
“She would know who on the other team was good at shooting threes, who tends to make mistakes shooting — much more deeply than you would think,” Welch said. “And she always prayed that the referees would be on our side.”
He said her investment in the team was contagious. And when she contacted the coaching staff, Planek remembers that on some occasions the staff would look back at each other and say, “You know, we didn’t think of that.”
“She really led by example,” he said, “and you can tell when you’re around her.”
3. Small gestures go a long way
As soon as the games were over, whether won or lost, Loyola’s coaches and players received an email from Sister Jean. Some late games would not have the team back on campus until 3am
“But there should be an email waiting for you,” Whitesell said. “Recapping the game, giving her points. There was always hope or a positive outlook, but there was also, ‘Hey, look, we have to do this better.’ Good construction stuff, so you could tell she was all in all the time.”
At the bottom of each email, Sister Jean made sure to include a personal message to the person she was sending the email to. Even though it was a small gesture, it made players feel like someone was paying attention to them.
One in particular stands out to Welch now.
After guarding Dayton’s Daron Holmes in a close game, he was assessed a technical foul. The game went into overtime and Loyola lost. Welch said he heard a lot of comments and criticism from the crowd, but when he checked his email that evening, he saw Sister Jean’s message, telling him she was proud of his tenacity and the way he never stood up to a player as big and talented as Holmes.
“Yes, sister,” he remembers thinking.
Another time, she signed off her email to Welch with a suggestion:
Tom, I think you need to relax your body more while playing. Try it against Drake and produce those points and great plays.
No matter a player’s role, Sister Jean wanted everyone to know there was someone watching closely who cared.
“She prepared us mentally and would really encourage us,” Welch said. “Writing emails like that every day after every game showed how much she cared. She really brought that togetherness.”
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