Jeff and Kathy Mulac are a small section of passionate, dedicated fans of Loyola Chicago basketball. They are lifelong fans who’ve consistently showed up for the Loyola Men’s Basketball team in Gentile Arena for 47 years. Remarkably, the alumni couple have only missed three games in nearly half a century.

The Mulac’s met at Loyola, and both graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1981. Jeff continued on to finish dental school at Loyola in 1985 and is still a practicing dentist in Palos Height, IL.

Their Loyola love story continues to thrive, rooted in – what one may call, “fate.” Jeff, a commuter student at the time, and Kathy, a Mertz Hall resident who was dating someone else in Mertz, crossed paths under rare circumstances. Jeff moved into the dorms after three years of convincing his parents, and Kathy’s boyfriend lived on the same floor Jeff moved in to. After seeing one another for some time on the same floor… well the rest, as they say, is history.

The Mulac’s luck doesn’t stop there. As fate would have it, the two were also basketball fans, making it easy to watch and support the sport they love.

The Pack is the student section in Gentile, and Pack intern, Kaylee Aguirre, says that the Mulac’s are no strangers to the arena.

“They’re probably the two people I look up to the most when it comes to being a Rambler fan,” Kaylee says.

Kathy also explains that the game day experience has improved tremendously. To the special halftime performances and games to the Pack student giveaways, Gentile has seen a significant rise in fan attendance and engagement.

Kathy explains that in 2018, when Loyola made its NCAA Tournament Final Four run, “there were maybe 100 people in the stands…well 10% of them were our friends that were here.”

From 100 fans in the stands, to sold-out crowds accommodating 4,381 guests, Loyola Men’s Basketball has come a long way. Now, before games, one can see hundreds of students lining up outside of Gentile.

“Before working with the Pack and being able to get in early, lining up was one of the most anticipated things for gameday,” Kaylee explains. “Seeing lines out there and engaging with those fans means so much because people are taking time out of their day to spend time in Gentile and be connected to student athletes.”

The Ramblers are undefeated so far this year with eight wins under their belt. Fans can anticipate a more packed Gentile as the team progresses and does well this season, and Jeff, Kathy, and Kaylee will be out there in the crowd.

Although Kaylee is a senior who doesn’t know if she’ll be at every home game once she graduated, she says she’ll be around in Chicago and do her best to make it to a few. As for the Mulac’s, they’re not going anywhere, and they said they’ll be around for as long as they can.