March Madness icon Sister Jean drops a new memoir at the perfect time

The Loyola Ramblers men’s basketball program has a legendary hero in Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, who plans to release her memoir ahead of March Madness.

Sister Jean, one of the most beloved figures at Loyola Chicago, announced that her new memoir, “Waking Up with Purpose! What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years,” will be released Tuesday, just a few weeks before March Madness.

It’s impeccable timing for the Sister Jean, the chaplain of the Loyola Ramblers men’s basketball team and a bonafide local folk hero who has brought a national spotlight to the school’s sports program.

The March Madness icon captured the basketball world’s attention back in 2018 when Loyola Chicago went on a Cinderella Run knocking out Tennessee, Nevada, and Kansas State before finally falling to the Michigan Wolverines.

Against all odds, Loyola Chicago memorably reached the Final Four with luck, skill, and arguably the help and prayers of a certain basketball-obsessed nun.

Sister Jean has become as intertwined in Loyola Chicago’s basketball program as the coaches themselves, and she can often be found hyping up the team in pre-game huddles along with providing more spiritual guidance as a nun.

Loyola Chicago folk hero Sister Jean is releasing a new memoir

The 2018 March Madness tournament was one of the “madder” ones as Loyola Chicago and Sister Jean somehow found a way to get to the Final Four for the first time since winning the national championship in 1963.

More than just an overnight sensation, Sister Jean continues to play a prominent role in the men’s basketball program, so much so that the school renamed a Chicago train station plaza at the Loyola campus in her honor for her 103rd birthday.

What truths could Sister Jean’s new memoir reveal? Will there be a bracket hidden within the pages that foretells Loyola Chicago’s journey in this year’s March Madness tournament?

In an interview with WBEZ, Sister Jean said people asked her to write a book after Loyola Chicago reached the Final Four in 2018. She also touched upon how she got her start as a mega-basketball fan and her years of being the chaplain of the Ramblers’ men’s basketball team:

"“I was asked to be the chaplain of the men’s basketball team. And I said, ‘I never did that, but I’ll be glad to try.’ And so I’ve had it all these years now. And I’ve loved every team. People say, ‘What seemed like the best?’ Well, I can’t say that because I loved every one of them.”"

Sister Jean certainly puts bandwagoners to shame.

The Ramblers got knocked out early last year, but with the power of one fiery nun’s faith on their side, no one can ever count them out.