CHICAGO _ Loyola Ramblers merchandise has been selling briskly, with some fans scouring sites like Etsy and eBay to find vintage items, but there's one collectible that's the Holy Grail: the Sister Jean bobblehead.
And it's making a comeback.
If you didn't get one at team chaplain Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt's bobblehead night in February 2011, and 2015, you were probably out of luck.
"We're looking at doing another run very soon," Tom Sorboro, senior associate athletic director for external operations, said via email from Atlanta, where the Ramblers will face seventh-seeded Nevada Thursday night.
"At this point, everything Sister Jean-related is of tremendous interest. She essentially has become her own brand. ... When people hear about the bobbleheads the first question they ask is, 'Where can I buy one?' ... We're hoping to be able to answer that question with something other than 'Nowhere, right now,' very soon."
Sorboro didn't specify a timeline.
Meanwhile, Ramblers merchandise has seen a 500 percent spike in sales on Fanatics.com over the past week, outpacing the other 15 teams remaining in the NCAA tournament, the company announced. Fanatics is one of the NCAA's licensed apparel and product retailers and operates on-site retail for nearly 50 pro and college partners.
After Loyola-Chicago upset Tennessee on a buzzer-beater in the second round Saturday, Fanatics sold more gear in the next 48 hours than the previous two weeks combined, according to a spokesman.
A Ramblers-themed "Bracket Buster" T-shirt has been the top-selling item on the site, and a "Sweet Sixteen" shirt has been seeing gains in the past few days.
