In the traditional fairytale, Cinderella is a humble house-worker who attends a royal ball, falls in love and ultimately marries a prince. Her life is thus changed forever.
When we think of Cinderella teams in the NCAA tournament, we’d imagine the school to follow a similar rags-to-riches narrative during their storybook March Madness run. No. 12-seeded High Point University, who beat No. 5 Wisconsin Thursday for their first-ever NCAA win, doesn’t exactly fit that mold when it comes to the college itself.
Last year, the North Carolina school was featured in a Wall Street Journal article that detailed how it has become the college of choice for rich and wealthy families. “Half of Wall Street sends their kids to this school,” High Point’s president Nido Qubein openly admitted.
You might have seen some wild facts circulating about High Point University online. Which are true, and which shouldn’t you believe? Here are a few fast facts about the so-called Cinderella team taking March Madness by storm.
High Point University’s campus facilities are ridiculously luxurious
High Point, a small private liberal arts school located in central North Carolina, is widely known as “The Premier Life Skills University” that focuses on less tangible skills like leadership and social etiquette. The campus reportedly includes a steakhouse, Mediterranean restaurant and Teppanyaki grill that helps prepare students for future job interviews and client deals, according to the WSJ.
Here’s a telling blurb from the WSJ’s feature:
On a typical weeknight, students at High Point University might sit down to filet mignon at “1924 PRIME,” the on-campus steakhouse. This isn’t a mere perk. Servers are told to coach the young diners on body language, professional attire, which fork to use and when to salt their food.
The fact that the school has been called a “glorified country club” also says a lot. Campus tours are apparently conducted on golf carts, there’s a $100 million library and planetarium, and even an “airplane-cabin interior, because sitting next to an executive on a plane could offer a golden opportunity—one young people should rehearse for.”
High Point University boasts a unique basketball star in Chase Johnston
High Point stunned Wisconsin in the first round Thursday night with the help of sharpshooter Chase Johnston, who isn’t your typical NCAA star.
The 26-year-old senior guard is an aspiring minister who has just one tried-and-true weapon in his arsenal: making threes. Johnston’s entire collegiate basketball career lies beyond the arc, as he has shot 1,039 threes across six seasons, the most for an active Division I player. He’s made 415 of those for a 39.9% career three-point shooting clip.
FIRST 2-POINTER OF THE YEAR FOR CHASE JOHNSTON 😱
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 19, 2026
HIGH POINT LEADS!!! pic.twitter.com/N2ZWYSb9Dz
To add to the madness of High Point’s NCAA run, Johnston’s game-winning layup vs. Wisconsin was his first successful two-pointer this whole season. Entering the NCAA tournament, Johnston, who plays roughly 12 minutes per game, had 143 field goal attempts in his 2025-26 campaign; 138 of those came from deep.
High Point University’s student radio team are legends in the making
For all the talk about High Point’s unorthodox educational ethos, the school’s student radio announcers have soared to stardom for their viral call of the program’s first-round upset. Jimmy Rosselli and Griffin Wright, the collegian radio voices of the Panthers, were rightfully fired-up during Thursday’s 83–82 win and, like High Point’s players, left it all out on the court—or rather, on the air.
Listen to their call of the wild final minute of the game below:
HELLO SATURDAY!!!! pic.twitter.com/aLqSp4XyC3
— The Jimmy and Griff Show (@JimmyandGriff) March 19, 2026
“That final minute was just, I mean, that’s what you dream of when you put your head down at night,” Rosselli told The New York Post. “I mean, I know we were dreaming of it last night. Waking up and having a close game, obviously, wasn’t a buzzer beater, but it was the magic of March.”
Last year, High Point was quickly eliminated in the first round by Purdue in the 2025 NCAA tournament. This time around, the plucky underdogs are no doubt hoping to keep on writing history in their second-round matchup against No. 4 Arkansas on Saturday night.
More March Madness from Sports Illustrated
- How a Missed Timeout Helped Kentucky Survive Scare From Santa Clara in March Madness
- Where Is Queens University Located? What to Know About No. 15 Seed Playing Purdue
- ACC Record in March Madness 2026 After Thursday’s First Round NCAA Tournament Games
- Big 12 Record in March Madness 2026 After Thursday’s First Round NCAA Tournament Games
This article was originally published on www.si.com as What to Know About High Point University, An NCAA Cinderella School That Caters to the Rich.
