Cinderella story is not dead: Stop giving up on fairytales when reality hits

The 2025 NCAA Tournament reached the back-half of Day Four before the first true March Madness moment. Fans got a lot of chalk, and even on Derik Queen’s buzzer-beater, it was the higher seed advancing to the Sweet 16. Now, with John Calipari left as a pseudo-Cinderella option, many have declared the underdog story dead.

That could not be further from reality. The Cinderella story is alive and well in college basketball, but sometimes reality crashes the fairytale… it’s even in the original story.

The clock did not strike midnight on NCAA Tournament runs by small schools from mid-major conferences when the transfer portal opened, or even when NIL opened a new era. To suggest on a March weekend in 2025 that the dream died seems premature.

Cinderella-less story in March Madness

The opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament featured a couple close calls, the typical 11-over-6 and 12-over-5 upset, and not many other big moments which pull at the heartstrings. It was as chalky of a run as college basketball has seen in recent memory.

However, there were still five double-digit seeds through to the Round of 32. Drake and McNeese were the only ones from mid-major conferences, and took losses in the next round, leading many to declare the Cinderella story dead.

That could not be further from reality in college basketball, where 16-seeds have seen success twice after decades of failure and the 15-over-2 became so common some consider it a pick-worthy trend to follow.

In 2024, 11-seed NC State – who might not fit the typical Cinderella mold but went from far off the bubble picture to the Final Four – stole plenty attention. Duquesne, Grand Canyon, James Madison, Oakland and Yale all pulled off upsets from mid-major conferences, failing to reach the Sweet 16 despite making a push in several cases.

From 2021-23, four teams won their opening matchup as a 15-seed or 16-seed – all while the transfer portal was up and running – with three of those advancing to the second weekend. While they were not a double-digit seed, mid-major FAU also made a Final Four run during that stretch.

Hope to find the glass slipper again

The Cinderella story is not dead. It has just taken on a new shape, much like the original story transformed from written word to the big screen in numerous varieties. That does not make it any less of a fairytale.

Instead of the old-school group of five-plus senior players who have spent their entire career together rallying together to defeat a blue-blood program full of one-and-done talent, there is a new formula.

Now, a mid-major might be best served bringing in a group of college basketball veterans who have experience at a higher level but not the opportunity. Those transfer portal spots and NIL resources dry up and some point and leave talented players in need of a home. Scoop up enough and find a style of play which can give blue-bloods fits.

As is the way of national narratives, it shifts with each season’s results. When small teams make big runs it is a sign of parity – thanks to the new era. When the big teams dominate, it is the new era’s fault.

At the end of the day, the worst thing for Cinderella teams in the NCAA Tournaments to come would be for fans across the country to accept that the story is dead. Keep believing in fairytales, because belief that the unlikely can happen is what it is all about anyway.