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Hours before Loyola men’s basketball edged out Fordham 70-66 in Gentile Arena, students poured into the Damen Student Center for Jesuit Jam, a nearly 25-year-old pre-game tradition that brings students and Jesuits together for pizza, carnival-style games, prizes, and Loyola swag.
“It’s a chance for the Jesuits on campus to have a night in public where we can give back to students, give back to the community, give back to the university, and have interactions with students we don’t normally have,” says Benjamin Rogers (MA ’26), a Jesuit Scholastic, who helped organize the event.
This year’s event featured an inflatable bungee run, a Connect 4-style basketball game, and an interactive bingo game, in which students scrambled to fill out boxes on their bingo cards while uncovering intriguing facts about Jesuits’ lives — who speaks Chinese, who was born with three front teeth, who has been to the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, who once ran security for Katy Perry.
In addition, Jesuits sold Jesuit Jam T-shirts emblazoned with the Loyola shield to help raise money for the Kolbe House Jail Ministry, an agency of the Archdiocese of Chicago whose network of volunteers and parish communities provides ministry, emergency assistance, books, release clothing, and coursework to prisoners at Cook and Lake County jails. “It’s a wonderful organization, and we Jesuits help out there a lot,” Rogers says.
Charise Feliciano (BS ’25), a senior majoring in molecular/cellular neuroscience, came to the event for spiritual affirmation. “I’m super part of the Catholic community here, and I love the Jesuits. Obviously, the education here is really good, but [the Jesuits’] commitment to service and everything they do” is what brought her out on a frigid night.
Taylor Starkey (BS ’25), the first attendee to fill out a complete row on her bingo board, came to the pre-game carnival with an appetite for free pizza and a winning strategy. She made a beeline to Brother Mark Mackey, her environmental science professor, who clued her in on whom she should talk to next. “From there I just talked to whatever Jesuit I could find. They’re super nice so it was easy,” she says. With prizes in hand — a Loyola lanyard, thermos, and winter hat — she scurried off to the basketball game with several of her friends.
At halftime, the Jesuits appeared on court for a game of musical chairs, capping a festive night. Rogers credits Brian Day, senior associate athletic director for external engagement, and Keiran Murphy, director of marketing and special events for the Athletics department, for helping to make the event successful. “It’s just a great collaboration. The Athletics department gets a good night, and we get a good night interacting with students and fans,” Rogers says.
@loyolachicago Space jam? More like Jesuit jam! #loyolachicago #loyolaramblers #ncaabasketball #a10 ♬ original sound – Loyola University Chicago
