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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM (“THE RAMBLERS”)
WHEREAS, the Cook County President and Board of Commissioners wish to congratulate the Loyola University Chicago Men's Basketball team (“The Ramblers”) for their magnificent season this year; and
WHEREAS, the Ramblers compiled a record of 28 wins and 5 loses during the regular season and advanced to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament for the first time since 1985; and
WHEREAS, led by Head Coach Porter Moser, The Ramblers won the Missouri Valley Conference by defeating Illinois State University in the championship game 65-49 on March 4. Loyola ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak; and
WHEREAS, as a result of Loyola's great regular season, Porter Moser was voted Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year; and
WHEREAS, Loyola University Chicago received an invitation to the NCAA Tournament and was the 11th seed in the South Region. In the first round, on March 15, their opponent, the University of Miami, Florida, was the sixth seed. The Rambler's Donte Ingram hitting a three-point shot with only three-tenths of a second left to give Loyola the win, 64-62; and
WHEREAS, in the second round (the Round of 32) on March 17, Loyola faced the University of Tennessee, which was the third seed in the South Region. In another close contest, Loyola's Clayton Custer - who was named Larry Bird Player of the Year in the Missouri Valley Conference and was also named as a First Team Scholar-Athlete in the Missouri Valley Conference --hit a 15-foot jump shot with 3.6 seconds left in the game to seal the victory for the Ramblers, 63-62; and
WHEREAS, in the third round (the Sweet Sixteen) of the NCAA Tournament on March 22, Loyola's opponent was the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, ranked as the seventh seed in the South Region. The Ramblers played with great enthusiasm and precision, led this time by Marques Townes, who scored 18 points -- including a 3-pointer with 6.3 seconds left in the game when Loyola was ahead by one point. With a four-point lead the Ramblers held on to win 69-68; and
WHEREAS, in the fourth round (the Elite Eight) on March 24, the Ramblers played Kansas State University, ranked as the ninth seed in the South Region. Teamwork once again was paramount for Loyola and, like the three previous tournament games, "a star was born" - this time, it was Ben Richardson - who previously had been named as the Missouri Valley Conference's Defensive Player of the Year -- who scored 23 points, including six of seven three-pointers. Richardson was also a First Team Scholar-Athlete in the Missouri Valley Conference and was honored as the South Region's Most Outstanding Player. By virtue of its 78-62 victory over Kansas State, Loyola won the South Region and moved on to the Final Four for the first time since 1963, extending its winning streak to 14, the longest of any team in the Tournament; and
WHEREAS, in the fifth round (the Final Four), on March 31, Loyola's opponent was the University of Michigan, ranked as the third seed in the West Region. The Ramblers played with heart and enthusiasm and led at halftime 29-22, an incredible effort given how powerful Michigan's offense had been all season. However, with about six minutes left in the game, Michigan took the lead and ended up winning the game; and
WHEREAS, throughout Loyola's NCAA Tournament run, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt was an inspiration to the team. As team chaplain, "Sister Jean" (as she is affectionately known) inspired and motivated The Ramblers in innumerable ways. Sister Jean has served in the Order of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin (BVM) since 1937 and has been team chaplain since 1996. Now, at the tender age of 98 she cemented the team ethos with her signature phrase: "Worship. Work and Win." In addition to her other honors, Sister Jean had bestowed upon her one of the greatest of sports honors: a bobblehead doll from the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum. By the end of the tournament, Sister Jean, was not just Loyola's treasure but the Nation's as well; and
WHEREAS, Loyola University Chicago has a long and storied history in basketball. In 1963 Loyola broke with college basketball's unwritten rule that no team should have more than two black players on the court at any given time and in so doing, created a national conversation on race which led to the elimination of the limit on black players' court time. On March 15, 1963, in the NCAA Tournament, Loyola played Mississippi State University. The governor of Mississippi had instructed the all-white Mississippi State team not to play against an integrated team. Their coach and players refused to follow the instruction, and the game became known as the Game of Change. Loyola would go on to defeat the two-time defending champion, University of Cincinnati Bearcats (ranked No. 1 in the Nation), to win the National Championship. Loyola remains the only Illinois school to ever win the NCAA Basketball title; and
WHEREAS, Loyola University Chicago is a Jesuit school founded in 1870. Its main Campus, known as the Lake Shore Campus, is in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the northeast side while its downtown campus, known as the Water Tower Campus, is next to Chicago's famed Magnificent Mile. Loyola has an enrollment of more than 16,000 students and boasts 150,000 alumni, 85,000 of whom live in the Chicago area; and
WHEREAS, as a Jesuit school, Loyola takes seriously its role in shaping students' lives. This is especially true of student-athletes, many of whom will never play professional sports. The degree they earn at Loyola is meaningful because of the school's commitment to their education, which takes the form of mentoring and tutoring to help guide them through a rigorous academic and athletic schedule. Student-Athletes at Loyola have a graduation rate of 99 percent. Only five other schools in Division I sports have a graduation rate that high, four of them in the Ivy League; and
WHEREAS, all of Cook County is grateful and honored for the positive national attention brought to Loyola University and our region. Head Coach Porter Moser and the entire group of players -- Adarius Avery, Jake Baughman, Dylan Boehm, Clayton Custer, Nick Dinardi, Donte Ingram, Aundre Jackson, Cameron Krutwig, Christian Negron, Ben Richardson, Cameron Satterwhite, Carson Shanks, Bruno Skokna, Marques Townes, Aher Uguak and Lucas Williamson -- are rightly proud of their season and accomplishments.
NOW, THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the President and Members of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, assembled this twenty-fourth day of April, 2018, do hereby congratulate the Loyola University Chicago Men's Basketball Team for its great season and its success in the NCAA Tournament; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be presented to Coach Porter Moser as a token of our esteem and good wishes.end