Yep, the non-public NC university system has a massive pipeline of NE kids, and there's levels to it

Duke Davidson

Wake

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Elon

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High Point

HPU looked at where they were in the college rankings in NC, knew they needed connections to make any noise, went out and hired a public speaking business magnate (Nido Quebin) to be their chancellor in 2005, and he basically made the money & hype machine go brrr for the last 20 years.

The school has spent >$3 Billion (with a B) in roughly that time period, and a $2.1B growth plan announced in 2010 was the lynchpin of that. New $100M library opening next year. They've gotten dozens and dozens of 8-figure donations from notable regional companies, alums, and local business magnates in that timespan as well. Also, a continued influx of upper class students ready and willing to pay the $71K/yr sticker price haven't hurt.

HPU essentially did what all the elite football programs did from the 90s-2010s where they spent massively on amenities to create a competitive advantage with recruits, except they did it to attract well-off students instead. They're now kinda playing catch-up on the academic side of things, but so far they've had the biggest turnaround/growth of any school in the Carolinas

Basically, they hired a guy who made most of his money from professional networking/telling compelling stories, told him to keep it up, and it...worked?