Loyola's Sister Jean to appear on ESPN's College GameDay
Sister Jean is coming to ESPN's College GameDay.
Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, a religious sister of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a chaplain for the Loyola -Chicago men's basketball team, first became a worldwide phenomenon during the Ramblers' surprise run to the NCAA Final Four in 2018. Fans were captivated by the nun’s spunk, vitality and cheeriness.
Now she returns to the stage to help preview Loyola's two-game weekend series at Drake in a matchup of the Missouri Valley Conference's top two teams.
Sister Jean, who turned 101 in 2020, will join host Rece Davis and analysts Jay Bilas, LaPhonso Ellis and Seth Greenberg on Saturday for College GameDay on ESPN, beginning at 11 a.m. ET. Her segment will air during the first half of the hour-long show.
Following the broadcast, the Ramblers and the Bulldogs will play a nationally televised game at noon ET on ESPN2. Sunday's game, slated for a 3 p.m. ET tipoff, will also air on ESPN2.
In August when Sister Jean turned 101, Loyola held a virtual party so students, alumni and fans could wish her happy birthday. She said her birthday wishes, coming during the middle of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, were pretty simple: Wash your hands. Social distance. And, most of all, wear a mask.
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Loyola (17-3, 12-1 MVC) is ranked No. 23 in this week's Ferris Mowers Coaches Poll. The Ramblers, who are off to their best start through 20 games since 1965-66 (18-2), are also ranked No. 22 in the Associated Press Top 25 — their first ranking in that poll since 1985.
Drake (19-1, 10-1 MVC) received 23 votes in this week's Coaches Poll after falling from their No. 25 ranking of the previous week. The Bulldogs received 18 votes in this week's AP poll.
In Paste BN Sports' latest bracketology, Drake was assigned a No. 6 seed while Loyola had a No.11 seed.
Contributing: Nancy Armour