(WTTW News)
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Every year on Match Day, medical students across the U.S. anxiously open envelopes to learn the name of the institution where they will start the next chapter of their careers. 

(WTTW News)

College basketball’s most famous fan, Sister Jean, is finally telling her own story. At 103 years old, the Loyola University Chicago matriarch is releasing the memoir “Wake Up with Purpose! What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years.”

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, the Loyola University men's basketball chaplain and school celebrity, sits for a portrait in The Joseph J. Gentile Arena, on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo / Jessie Wardarski)
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In “Wake Up with Purpose: What I’ve Learned in My First Hundred Years,” Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt tells her life story, offers spiritual guidance and shares some of the lessons she’s learned.

Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt speaks to reporters, during her 103rd birthday celebration at Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM Plaza next to the Loyola Red Line station in Chicago, Sunday, Aug. 21, 2022. (Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

School, city and state leaders celebrated Sunday with the Catholic nun who became something of a folk hero as chaplain for the Loyola men’s basketball team that reached the NCAA Final Four in 2018.

Ohio State’s Eugene Brown III, right, blocks a shot by Loyola of Chicago’s Aher Uguak (30) during the first half of a college basketball game in the first round of the NCAA tournament, Friday, March 18, 2022, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo / Keith Srakocic)

The Buckeyes (20-11) advanced to play either Villanova or Delaware on Sunday in the South Region while preventing another March run by the Ramblers (25-8), who shot 27% (15 of 56) from the floor. Braden Norris led Loyola with 14 points but star Lucas Williamson endured perhaps his worst game of the season.

(Courtesy O'Malley Creadon Productions)
Chicago went wild when the Loyola Ramblers played in the final four of the NCAA tournament in 2018. It was the first time the men’s basketball team made it that far since 1963 when the Ramblers won the school’s only championship title and broke racial barriers while doing so.  But the '63 season was groundbreaking for many reasons, as shown in the new documentary "The Loyola Project."
Jerry Harkness played for Loyola basketball from 1960-1963. (WTTW News)

Jerry Harkness was inspired by Jackie Robinson to take up the game of basketball. He ended up becoming a civil rights trailblazer in his own right.

This file photo shows a sign advertising a bail bonds business in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (Kathy Willens / AP)

As the number of homicides continues to rise in major American cities, police leaders are targeting bail reform efforts as a contributing factor to the surge in violent crime rates — but data from a Chicago study shows that only a small percentage of defendants released on bail are committing violent crimes.

Specimens of the round goby were among the species included in the micro plastics study. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Eric Engbretson)

Working with specimens in the Field Museum’s collections, researchers from Loyola University Chicago found microplastics in fish dating back to the 1950s. “Plastic is everywhere,” the scientists said. 

Loyola Chicago head coach Porter Moser watches from the bench during the first half of a Sweet 16 game against Oregon State in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Saturday, March 27, 2021, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo / Jeff Roberson)

Oklahoma hired Loyola Chicago’s Porter Moser as its basketball coach Saturday following Lon Kruger’s retirement. Moser embraces the challenge of coaching at a Big 12 program that reached the Final Four in 2016 and has featured NBA talents Buddy Hield and Trae Young.

Jerry Harkness, Loyola basketball (1960-1963)

Loyola University Chicago’s NCAA run has put the Ramblers in the national spotlight once again. We remember the 1963 championship team.

Loyola Chicago head coach Porter Moser, right, consoles guard Marquise Kennedy after a Sweet 16 game against Oregon State in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Saturday, March 27, 2021, in Indianapolis. Oregon State won 65-58. (AP Photo / Darron Cummings)

Not even the fervent prayers of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt could help Loyola deal with the Beavers and the constantly changing defenses that coach Wayne Tinkle rolled out. The Ramblers, who played with such poise and perfection in toppling top-seeded Illinois, wound up shooting 33% from the field and 5 of 23 from beyond the arc.

If the pregame prayer sounded more like a scouting report, it was. And if Sister Jean didn’t have any plans for next weekend, well, she does now. Loyola Chicago carried out its 101-year-old superfan’s plans to a T on Sunday, moving to the Sweet 16 with a 71-58 win over Illinois.

Loyola Chicago center Cameron Krutwig (25) celebrates after defeating Georgia Tech 71-60 in a first-round game in the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Friday, March 19, 2021. (AP Photo / AJ Mast)

The breakout star and model for the most coveted bobblehead of the 2018 NCAA Tournament is now eight months beyond her 101st birthday and still serving as chaplain for the Loyola of Chicago basketball team. 

Loyola Ramblers fans cheer on the team at in Rogers Park bar Bruno’s on Thursday, March 15, 2018. (WTTW News)

Get your brackets ready because March Madness, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, kicks off Thursday and two Illinois universities are among the 68 teams competing.

(WTTW News)

Planning to visit a patient in the hospital? Check first.

Like everything else in the era of COVID-19, visiting a friend or family member in the hospital has changed. Here’s what you can expect.