....Don't have all the answers here but I think the final verdict will depend on if he can come up with the proof that he does indeed have the degree. And I don't think he has a lot of time to prove his case considering the urgency in locking down whoever has been recruited for next season.
Verification of his degree has already been established by Kentucky:
However, Masiello did not graduate from Kentucky, UK spokeswoman Ashley Caressen told ESPN. Masiello attended UK from the fall of 1996 to the summer of 2000 but never earned his degree, Caressen said.
IMO and what I find most interesting is that Steve Masiello and his people seem to be trying to establish that somehow Masiello was under the impression that he did graduate from Kentucky with a degree in Communications in 2000 and was hired by Tulane, Manhattan, Louisville and Manhattan again with no intentional academic fraud on his part. Not sure why Masiello didn't think it was a problem that he didn't actually have a final transcript proving he graduated or that he didn't have a UK diploma hanging on his wall before he made his resume or why all of his former employers never checked, especially Manhattan twice?
this is so sad...........this debate about lying and what MC can do to make it right and keep their good coach. Masiello is from the lineage of Pitino and Calipari and all the sleaze that goes with those guys. So why are we even talking about how to make this right? He lied.........deliberately. How did MC not do its due diligence and find out what USF did find out?? If anything I would have expected USF to "overlook" these things and MC to be the diligent, Catholic school....but alas, it is quite the opposite. So in this topsy-turvy world of college bball, where do we stand? For doing what is right or trying to cover it, smother it and whatever, like Waffle House does with its hash browns? At least so far this is what FU has going for it..........their integrity.........not so much MC.......maybe Iona???
I would say Manhattan is in the drivers seat. They can take him back, with a stipulation that he complete his degree by a certain time. They could modify his buyout clause effectively making it prohibitively expensive for any school to hire him away. They could guarantee themselves a coach for 5 years, they could lock down their recruits who could leave if a coaching change takes place. Massiello would be coaching with on chip on his shoulder and would be a man possessed trying to punch his ticker to the next level. If I were running the show, I'd retain him if he signs a revised contract changing his buy-out terms and agrees to complete his degree.
Yeah RF, maybe these things would come true if he comes back. But then again I would think there might be some serious negative things about this. BTW concerning your point about a possessed coach working with a chip on his shoulder trying to reach the next level, well isn't that what he has been already? Just asking. But on the other hand, trying to recruit with this immediate stench on his record might be a deterent in his recruiting efforts as in this at times nasty business, this scandal would certainly be used against him by competing schools. Don't have all the answers here but I think the final verdict will depend on if he can come up with the proof that he does indeed have the degree. And I don't think he has a lot of time to prove his case considering the urgency in locking down whoever has been recruited for next season.
Totally agree with you point about him already being a possessed coach with a chip on his shoulder. I think with this incident he will take it to another level. if that is evem possible.
Your points are all of course valid, but Manhattan does find themselves in a bit of a situation. They hired him without doing their diligence. They already have egg on their face. He is still under contract. They can probably try to terminate him based on the morals clause but this may not be as clear cut as you might think. Most offers are conditional on passing a background check but Massiello must have been informed he passed the background check. Most employees don't start a job until they have been told they passed a background check they really can't claim three years later that he failed it. Certainly if he did not provide written notice yet, depending on the language in his contract terminating his employment may not come without some cost. This is an interesting case in employment law.
I personally would like to see Massiello move on; but tactically I think Manhattan would be better served to keep him. For them the pluses outweigh the minuses.
An interesting poll question would have been, if it had been discovered that Ed Cooley did not graduate college and providence had rescinded their offer, would we have wanted Ed back? Viewing this situation from this lens might bring a different viewpoint to some. Most of us can't stand Massiello and therefore want him gone. But to me the question is about what is best for Manhattan and I think their interests are best served by keeping him.
Post by nashvillestag on Mar 30, 2014 8:43:10 GMT -5
RF, concerning your hypothetical question about Cooley, I guess there would be a lot of heated opinions among "we" the fans. But I have to believe that if the school really wants to live up to the ideals it stands for, they would not bring him back right now. Obviously not an easy answer I will admit. Now here's another interesting poll question for "we" the fans. Right at this very moment, if you could make believe you are a fan of Manhattan, should you feel better about your program than us fans of the Stags about ours? Interesting moral question I would think.
RF, concerning your hypothetical question about Cooley, I guess there would be a lot of heated opinions among "we" the fans. But I have to believe that if the school really wants to live up to the ideals it stands for, they would not bring him back right now. Obviously not an easy answer I will admit. Now here's another interesting poll question for "we" the fans. Right at this very moment, if you could make believe you are a fan of Manhattan, should you feel better about your program than us fans of the Stags about ours? Interesting moral question I would think.
Leaving aside the moral question of --- is it better to be 100% honest or cut a corner to achieve your goal?--- put me down as feeling better about my program as a fan of Manhattan right now than as a fan of our program. NCAA appearance, many good players probably returning from the MAAC tournament winning team, playing to near capacity crowds on our home court, and road wins over LaSalle and South Carolina last season. True, there is currently the thorny situation of a head coach on leave who needs to fulfill his requirements for a degree but if handled a certain way could result with additional years with this coach who can win the important games without having to empty the athletic coffers to keep him.
In our favor, we have a coach who actually does have a college degree. It's hard for me to believe that is the better situation of the two you offered, Nashville.
Post by redseastag on Mar 30, 2014 10:22:00 GMT -5
76, you can't discount the moral question because it does matter. Remember when Cooley suspended Peanut and we got absolutely smacked at Canisius? In the short term, it hurt, but it was a good thing for the team, the program, and for Peanut. The coach has a great degree of responsibility. He needs to produce a winning team, foster chemistry, and give these kids a foundation for their future. Selling out in the short term for success is a fool's game for the school. The evidence says he is a self-serving coach. Masiello is a sell out and I wouldn't stand for his disloyalty nor would I stand for his dishonesty. He is a prime example of what is wrong with basketball from the pros down to AAU. Manhattan should be embarrassed and shouldn't let him be an ambassador of their school.
A very interesting perspective in the NYT by Juliet Macur:
When Accountability Is Only a Word
Steve Masiello sat across a table from me before Manhattan’s opening game in the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament in Orlando, Fla., and preached the importance of accountability.....
His situation raises other questions. What background checks, if any, did Manhattan or Louisville do before hiring Masiello? What else might they have missed? With Masiello’s having a strong reference from Pitino in hand, perhaps many people took Masiello’s word about his qualifications. Even Pitino, who left Kentucky after Masiello’s freshman year, said he assumed Masiello had graduated.
What was not an exaggeration was that Masiello was a coaching star. Against Louisville in the tournament, he wore a fancy suit that Pitino called “ridiculous” because it looked so expensive. Masiello shouted so loudly that his gravelly voice rose above the crowd noise and showed that he could be a commanding presence on the sideline. His players said they loved being on his team because of his intensity and the way he pushed them to be meticulous....
But Masiello told me that he ended up following Pitino to Kentucky only because his low SAT scores prevented him from playing at Davidson. He was heartbroken. But now that only proves that he understood that academic weaknesses had consequences.
What is inexplicable is that Masiello probably knew about previous coaching scandals regarding flawed résumés and was still ambitious enough, or felt invincible enough, to continue living his lie. How can he encourage his players to study, stay in college and earn their degrees when he failed to do so himself? A college degree won’t improve his coaching skills. But not having one hurts his credibility. Can Manhattan trust him? Can his players trust him?
Masiello had 14 years to complete his degree. He could have taken online classes. He could have been a good example to his players. Perhaps he didn’t have the backbone for that. Right now, we don’t know.....
Steve Masiello, in limbo at Manhattan, latest coach to lie
We do not yet know if Masiello intentionally lied about graduating, or somehow thought he had earned a degree in communications when he hadn’t, as crazy as that sounds...
But when you are running as hard as Masiello, 36, as hard as his players run, when you are selling and hustling just as hard, when you are a guy made for the AAU culture of college basketball, maybe the only part of the resume that is supposed to matter is your win-loss record, which gets you a reported $5 million, five-year contract from the University of South Florida, until the school takes it back....
Now Masiello has been sent to the penalty box by Manhattan as that school decides whether it wants him back, and as the rest of us wonder why the people in charge in Riverdale would want him back.
Somebody explain to me, though, why his career automatically has to continue at Manhattan, where it is at least reasonable to assume he got by with the same resume he submitted to South Florida, with the same fiction about his degree from Kentucky?
And it is even more than that. I understand that Masiello has a right to make a big score after three years at Manhattan. It happens all the time. He really is the same as a one-and-done college player, because he got the South Florida job because of one near-miss of a tournament game last week against Rick Pitino’s defending champs from Louisville. So now you don’t even need a tournament win to get you to the next stop and a bigger paycheck. You just have to come close.
76, you can't discount the moral question because it does matter. Remember when Cooley suspended Peanut and we got absolutely smacked at Canisius? In the short term, it hurt, but it was a good thing for the team, the program, and for Peanut. The coach has a great degree of responsibility. He needs to produce a winning team, foster chemistry, and give these kids a foundation for their future. Selling out in the short term for success is a fool's game for the school. The evidence says he is a self-serving coach. Masiello is a sell out and I wouldn't stand for his disloyalty nor would I stand for his dishonesty. He is a prime example of what is wrong with basketball from the pros down to AAU. Manhattan should be embarrassed and shouldn't let him be an ambassador of their school.
Redsea, I'm pretty sure Nashville's question referred to the current situation between the two schools. While the head coaching situation is presently up in the air at Manhattan, I think you should use the open and forthright manner Sydney has addressed the Grennan/Davis "mutual" decision to retrieve their basketball focus and commitment by not being on the team as an example of the current level of virtue permeating our program. Even if Manhattan completely cuts all ties with Masiello; unless they completely botch the hiring process --- there most likely will be more preseason buzz and anticipation for Jaspers basketball next season than for our upcoming season.
If Nashville had asked us to compare whether 5 years ago, we would rather be a supporter of Manhattan or Fairfield --- I would've immediately said Fairfield.
Post by ctghostman on Mar 30, 2014 12:12:20 GMT -5
With a lot of focus on APRs and graduation rates, it's dumbfounding that it took this long to surface. The O'Leary situation at Notre Dame differs in that was, to my recollection, about a Grad degree exaggeration. theres no focus on those degrees in sports. The O'Leary situation should have alerted many about background checks in general. I think Manhattan needs to explain its process in the original, as assistant, hire. That's where the fault lies, IMO. I doubt many would do an extensive search on a rehire.
RF, concerning your hypothetical question about Cooley, I guess there would be a lot of heated opinions among "we" the fans. But I have to believe that if the school really wants to live up to the ideals it stands for, they would not bring him back right now. Obviously not an easy answer I will admit. Now here's another interesting poll question for "we" the fans. Right at this very moment, if you could make believe you are a fan of Manhattan, should you feel better about your program than us fans of the Stags about ours? Interesting moral question I would think.
I'd feel better about just making the ncaa tourney than missing out on the dance the last 17 years. Even if Manhattan cans Massiello, as a manhattan fan you still feel better about the direction of the program.
Post by Stagophile on Mar 30, 2014 20:56:52 GMT -5
I hope you guys are happy being associated with the MAAC, a beacon of academic integrity. The strategic thinking or lack thereof concerning our athletic programs must be addressed in Fairfield 2020.
He lied.........deliberately. How did MC not do its due diligence and find out what USF did find out?
I think with this incident he will take it to another level. 
