In 2018, Sister Jean made her way to San Antonio to watch her Loyola-Chicago Ramblers team play in the NCAA Men’s Final Four. It was an inspirational Cinderella story that had every college basketball fan’s attention, as the 11-seeded Ramblers stormed through March Madness with their chaplain and superfan Sister Jean by their side.
Loyola-Chicago met the third-seed Michigan Wolverines in the semifinal game in the Alamodome, where they would fall 69-57, ending the Rambler’s historic run as only the fourth 11-seed ever to make the Final Four. On the other side of the bracket, the top-seed Villanova Wildcats dominated fellow one-seed Kansas, 95-79. In the championship game, in front of 68,000 fans packing the Alamodome, Donte DiVencenzo scored 31 points to lead Villanova to a 79-62 win over Michigan.
Sister Jean became a national icon during the Ramblers’ 2018 run to the Final Four. Her arrival in the Alamo City marked the fourth time the city had hosted a Men’s Final Four. In 2025, the event will return to the Alamodome for the fifth time, becoming one of only five venues in the nation to host as many times.