© 2026 ABC News

\"I'm just having a lot of fun,\" Sister Jean said of the team's recent success and her own rise to social media stardom. \"It's just brought so many happy memories to me.\"

\"VIDEO:
ABCNews.com
VIDEO: Loyola Chicago basketball team prays with 98-year-old Sister Jean before a big win
>

Sister Jean was the most tweeted about person of the games this past weekend, according to Twitter. Even former president and Chicago favorite Barack Obama mentioned Sister Jean on Twitter.

Congrats to @LoyolaChicago and Sister Jean for a last-second upset - I had faith in my pick!

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) March 15, 2018

Sister Jean said, \"I began to love basketball when I was in high school,\" when women's courts were still divided into three sections instead of the full courts we have today.”

\"PHOTO:
Tom Pennington/Getty Images
PHOTO: Marques Townes #5 of the Loyola Ramblers celebrates with Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt after beating the Tennessee Volunteers in the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center, March 17, 2018, in Dallas.
>

Number 11-seeded Loyola-Chicago defeated Miami 62-64 in an upset buzzer-beater, first-round win, then advanced to top Tennessee by 1 point in the second game of the tournament and will now face No. 6-seeded Nevada Thursday night in the Sweet 16.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/secret-march-madness-star-prays-loyola-chicagos-opponents/story?id=53869321","legacySlug":"/culture/story/secret-march-madness-star-prays-loyola-chicagos-opponents-53869321","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"13:39","publishDate":"03-20-2018","updatedTime":"14:10","updatedDate":"03-20-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Sister Jean Dolores-Schmidt celebrates after the Loyola Ramblers beat the Tennessee Volunteers at the 2018 NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center, March 17, 2018, in Dallas.","credit":"Tom Pennington/Getty Images","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Sports/sister-jean-loyola-chicago2-gty-ml-180320_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"3/20/2018 13:39:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":53869321,"headline":"Sister Jean's March Madness pregame pep talk ","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_SISTER_JEAN_MARCH_MADNESS_180320","description":"The team chaplain has become the face of the Loyola-Chicago basketball team. ","duration":"4:04","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/03/180320_gma_sister_jean_0746_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["133707237","133144263","132956835"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"June 9, 2026","headline":"Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","section":"News","slug":"/video/133707237","id":"133707237","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Flash flood threat as dangerous weather on the move","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260609_gma_zee_weather1_707_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 20, 2026","headline":"Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","section":"News","slug":"/video/133144263","id":"133144263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fashion mogul’s son arrested in father’s fatal fall","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260520_gma_ally_fall3_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"May 14, 2026","headline":"Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","section":"News","slug":"/video/132956835","id":"132956835","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump meets Xi Jinping in high-stakes Beijing summit","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260514_gma_bruce_china1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Sister Jean's March Madness pregame pep talk ","description":"The team chaplain has become the face of the Loyola-Chicago basketball team. ","duration":"4:04","uploadDate":"03-20-2018","publication":"03-20-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/03/180320_gma_sister_jean_0746_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/03/180320_gma_sister_jean_0746_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/culture/story/secret-march-madness-star-prays-loyola-chicagos-opponents-53869321"}},"playlist":[{"id":"133694181","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133688738","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616358","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133616342","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133522899","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133584123","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133579397","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133482839","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133390157","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133415361","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133414032","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133380485","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133358298","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133350119","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307515","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133307527","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133282665","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133220149","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133179167","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"133144373","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:culture:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"culture","title":"Sister Jean's March Madness pregame pep talk ","pubTime":"09:39","pubDate":"03-20-2018","modTime":"10:10","modDate":"03-20-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":53869321,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Sister Jean's March Madness pregame pep talk ","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA_SISTER_JEAN_MARCH_MADNESS_180320","videoId":53869321,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/culture/story/secret-march-madness-star-prays-loyola-chicagos-opponents-53869321"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/53869321","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/53869321","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};