Steve Masiello placed on leave by Manhattan after flunking background check over Kentucky degree and loses his new $5 million coaching gig at South Florida

Steve Masiello placed on leave by Manhattan after flunking background check over Kentucky degree and loses his new $5 million coaching gig at South Florida

Posted by Sylvester on Wednesday, March 26, 2014 0

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Masiello never graduated from the University of Kentucky, even though his resume and bio on the Manhattan and Louisville websites says he was a 2009 graduate with a degree in communications.

Steve Masiello leads Manhattan College to the NCAA Tournament but his attempts to move up the ladder to South Florida fail over not having degree from Kentucky. 

Steve Masiello isn't the coach of South Florida, and he isn't the coach of Manhattan at the moment, either.
The Riverdale school said on Wednesday that its coach, who had one foot out the door just a day earlier, has been placed on leave while a review is conducted of his degree status at the University of Kentucky.
"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, 36, appeared to be on his way to the University of South Florida Tuesday, but he won’t be going to the new school because he never graduated from his first school.
The Tampa Tribune reported late Tuesday USF had pulled the deal because of a problem with Masiello’s background check.
Masiello played under coaches Rick Pitino and Tubby Smith at the University of Kentucky, but never graduated from the school, as indicated on his resume. The false information precluded Masiello from becoming the next head coach at the University of South Florida Monday.
“He does not have a degree,” University of Kentucky spokesman Jay Blanton said Tuesday morning.

He does not have a degree.

Masiello majored in communications and Blanton cited federal privacy laws when asked how close Masiello was to finishing. Masiello attended the university in Lexington, Ky. from the fall of 1996 to the summer of 2000.
The deal with USF was said to be for five years and worth more than $1 million a year.
Masiello served as Pitino’s assistant at Louisville for six years and took Manhattan to the NCAAs this season in his third year on campus. He led the Jaspers to the MAAC title, a year after losing to Iona in the championship game.
It was the Jaspers’ first MAAC title since 2004. The Jaspers also won 25 games for the first time since that 2003-04 season. Their season ended last week with a 71-64 loss to Pitino’s fourth-seeded Cardinals in the Round of 64. On Wednesday, the school said it would issue futher comments regarding the coach once the degree review process is complete.
At Louisville, Masiello, a former ball boy for the Knicks under Pitino, proved himself as an ace recruiter for Pitino’s teams. He was the co-captain his senior year at Kentucky. South Florida, which now plays in the American Athletic Conference, fired Stan Heath after the season. USF finished 12-20 this season, 3-15 in the AAC.
Masiello, a White Plains product, attended Archbishop Stepinac and graduated from the Harvey School in Katonah.