This much I know: Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt
SISTER JEAN DOLORES SCHMIDT, | 89 | CHAPLAIN, LOYOLA MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
"We're the only Illinois university to have ever won an NCAA championship, and when the University of Illinois got so close [four years ago], we didn't want them to win."
I was born Aug. 21, 1919. I played basketball at St. Paul High in San Francisco, then entered our novitiate in Dubuque, Iowa. I made my vows in 1940.
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I taught at elementary schools in California for 20 years -- nine at St. Charles School in North Hollywood, where I taught famous people like Roger Mahoney, now the cardinal in L.A., and Tony and Linda Hope -- Bob Hope's children. Students there included the Sinatras and entertainer Jerry Colonna's kids. I also coached the girls' basketball, volleyball, softball and track teams there.
Mundelein College here beckoned in 1961, and, over 33 years, I held a number of positions -- from teaching to acting dean to residence hall director. After Mundelein affiliated with Loyola, Loyola offered a very good retirement package in 1994, and I took it. That's when the then-Loyola president asked me to work with the men's basketball team because our players needed a little pushing around once in a while -- and encouragement. Every Loyola athletic team has a chaplain. I became the only woman chaplain in 1997.
Basketball, I always loved. I had two brothers, and they were very sports-minded, though not as interested in basketball as I was. They preferred football. I followed the NCAA and the NBA for years. When Loyola won the national championship in 1963, I remember watching the game on TV. We're the only Illinois university to have ever won an NCAA championship, and, let me tell you, when the University of Illinois got so close [four years ago], we didn't want them to win at all. We wanted to keep the distinction.
The Bulls are my favorite NBA team. I still like them even though they're losing. I think Michael Jordan brought something to the sport that nobody else has ever brought to it, but I think the Bulls will come back. They're starting to pull things together. . . . It's not an individual game at all. And I always tell our fellas that you have to play with your head and your heart. If you leave out either, you're in trouble.
The Ramblers are a great team, and just very good guys. They listen to their coach and try to follow directions, which is always good. They also have team spirit. I always say to them when I pray with them, 'Give the ball to the fellow who's hot tonight' because sometimes they're hot, and sometimes they're cold. If you can't get it in, give it to whoever can do it. The point is to win, not to be self-gratifying.
We pray together about 10 minutes before every game. I don't go to the locker room with them. We stand out in the gym and just bow our heads. The kind of prayers we say, I don't know how religious they are. I say something to the effect of, 'Good and gracious God, we need you tonight, and we expect you to help us.' If we lost the last game, I might say, 'We were wondering where you were when we needed you last time.' We don't pray very long because they're very anxious about the game, you know. Ahead of every game, I check the other team's Web site to see what they've been doing, and I watch them warm up. So I also tell my team things like, 'No. 5 is very good at three-pointers, so don't let him get to that line.' Or, 'No. 54 works under the basket, so keep him away.'
I never miss a home game, or games in Wisconsin, or UIC. I watch away games on the Internet. This was a bad year for us healthwise, with a broken ankle, broken hand and a bad back taking three key players. We're disappointed the season is over. We finished 6-12 in the league, 14-18 overall. But it's OK. We say like the Cubs, 'Next year!'
I'm looking forward to March Madness. I'm already registered in a contest, but I'm having a hard time with my choices because some of the better teams are beginning to lose. So often, these Big Ten schools win, but sometimes a Cinderella comes along. I'll have a better idea [Sunday night]. I'll be glued to the TV, then I'll pull the grid off the Web site right away, make my own projections and track them every day. You can never tell with March Madness. It all depends on who's hot.