Steve Masiello’s future — and a final decision on his coaching status — with Manhattan could be determined by Friday, according to a source familiar with the situation.
On Wednesday, Masiello met with several Manhattan officials, including representatives from human resources, retiring athletic director Bob Byrnes, incoming athletic director Noah LeFevre and school provost William Clyde, with administrators split on whether to retain Masiello, according to multiple sources. The decision could be delayed because Manhattan President Brennan O’Donnell was in the Caribbean when news broke on Wednesday that Masiello had not graduated from the University of Kentucky, as was listed on his résumé and on the bios of the websites of the schools where he has coached.
According to one source, Masiello believed he had graduated — having attended the school from 1996-2000, as a walk-on with the Wildcats — with the current predicament stemming from a paperwork problem involving two online classes and an independent study course, which Masiello failed to properly submit as a senior. Masiello was expected to be in contact with the University of Kentucky registrar’s office on Thursday.
Last Thursday, Masiello nearly led 13th-seeded Manhattan to a stunning upset over defending national champion Louisville — in the Jaspers’ first NCAA Tournament appearance in 10 years. Wednesday, the 36-year-old coach was placed on leave by The Bronx school while the situation is sorted out.
“As a result of a background check commissioned by the University of South Florida, Manhattan College has learned there is a question of the validity of head men’s basketball coach Steve Masiello’s undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky,” the school said in a statement.
“Masiello is currently in the process of reviewing his degree status with the University of Kentucky. Manhattan College has placed Masiello on leave while he completes this process with the University.”
Masiello was ready to leave Manhattan on his own, having been offered — and having accepted — the vacant head coaching position at South Florida on Tuesday, but later that night, the offer was rescinded after a search firm hired by the school discovered “a previously undetected discrepancy in his background check,” according to the Tampa Tribune.
After Kentucky, Masiello, a White Plains native, spent one season as an assistant at Tulane before another four years as an assistant coach at Manhattan, then six more under Rick Pitino at Louisville.
When Masiello applied for the Manhattan head coaching job in 2011, a bachelor’s degree was a listed as a requirement for the position — as it was with South Florida — according to a source familiar with the situation.
Masiello, who has two years remaining on his contract with Manhattan, had agreed to a five-year deal worth more than $1 million per season to step up to South Florida and the AAC.
“During the search for a new men’s basketball coach, an agreement in principle was reached by USF and candidate Steve Masiello,” the University of South Florida said in a statement on Wednesday. “The agreement was pending a verification of credentials. Through the verification process it was determined the candidate’s credentials could not be substantiated and therefore he did not meet the requirements for the position.”
A similar situation occurred at Rutgers last year, when it was discovered new coach Eddie Jordan did not graduate from the school, though it was not a requirement of the job. Jordan stayed on as coach and is working toward finishing his degree.
After taking over a six-win Manhattan team in 2011, Masiello led the Jaspers to the biggest turnaround in Division I. In his second season, he took an injury-plagued team within one win of the NCAA Tournament, before ending the school’s decade-long drought this month.