High Point is having its March Madness moment. 5 things to know about the school
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- High Point won its first-ever NCAA tournament game over Wisconsin.
- University markets luxury amenities and a Wall Street–oriented elite network.
- President Qubein grew enrollment, assets and campus and emphasizes career outcomes.
High Point University won its first-ever NCAA men’s basketball tournament game on Thursday, an accomplishment that left North Carolina fans’ heads swiveling.
The No. 12 team beat No. 5 Wisconsin by just one point, with a glorious last-minute block clinching the game. High Point student announcers lost their minds over Thursday’s unexpected win.
“Put on the glass slipper!” screamed student announcer Griffin Wright in the video. “It’s a Cinderella story!”
The private school in High Point was the subject of a Wall Street Journal article last fall that detailed the school’s elite sensibilities.
High Point, the city, is best known as a furniture capital and is home to the world’s largest furniture show. Its school is a bit of an anomaly, and clearly, a rising force in college basketball.
Here are five things to know about High Point University:
- It caters to wealthy, Wall Street types. “Half of Wall Street sends their kids to this school,” High Point University president Nido Qubein told the WSJ in an interview. The school’s strategy is to appeal to families who can pay the full price for a jet-set, high-society experience.
- It has a steakhouse, a faux airplane cabin interior, six swimming pools and six hot tubs, 28 gardens, and private tiny home-style dorms. These amenities and even more are what set High Point apart. They say you can hear a fountain burbling from most places on campus. Some of its critics call it a “glorified country club,” according to the WSJ, but leadership balks at that characterization.
- The current president, Qubein, has transformed the school. Qubein served as the chairman of the Great Harvest Bread Company and sat on the board of Truist Financial and La-Z-Boy. He emigrated to the United States from Israel “with limited knowledge of English and only $50 in his pocket,” according to his bio on High Point’s website. The school’s unique strategy and brand is his brainchild, and it’s been highly successful. When he assumed office in 2005, the school was in trouble. Not anymore. He’s grown enrollment by 322%, campus acreage by 515%, and net assets to almost $1 billion.
- High Point has just over 6,300 students, and the top major is business. It has an acceptance rate of 68% and is affiliated with the Methodist Church. The total cost to attend, including tuition, fees, basic housing, and food, is $71,429. Students are required to live on campus until senior year. Each freshman is assigned a career coach, and the school says 99% of all graduates are either employed or in grad school within 180 days.
- Its curriculum focuses on practical skills for a life of business and networking. Its motto is “The Premier Life Skills University.” The school says those skills include clear and effective communication, emotional intelligence, motivation, coachability, and the ability to build and maintain relationships. Many of those relationships, the school bets, will be fostered in private jets over filet mignon.
High Point will play Arkansas on Saturday at 9:45 p.m. Eastern at Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 12:16 PM.
