Steve Masiello's meteoric ascent up the coaching hierarchy hit a speedbump after a discrepancy on his resume caused the University of South Florida to rip up the contract he signed this week with the Bulls. Over a decade ago, Notre Dame did the same with new head coach George O'Leary's contract over a series of resume inaccuracies including a masters degree from a non-existent institution and earning three letters at the University of New Hampshire when he had't even played a single game.
Masiello's less egregious mistake was that he included his degree from the University of Kentucky where he was a walk-on. However, Masiello never graduated.with a degree in communications.
Not even Rick Pitino, who left for the Boston Celtics before Masiello graduated in 2000 was aware. Prior to accepting the Manhattan job in 2011, Masiello was Pitino's assistant coach at Louisville from 2005 until 2011. Ultimately, Masiello's communications degree probably shouldn't have mattered as a basketball coach, but as a matter of principle South Florida took a stand.
Comparing Masiello's resume error to O'Leary'ssituation is a little off base though. Ultimately, Notre Dame's athletic director didn't accept O'Leary's resignation until O'Leary admitted that there were multiple inaccuracies on his resume. One was enough for USF.
Masiello is now stuck in limbo as he may not be able to return to Manhattan after accepting the South Florida vacancy. Ultimately, this will be a stain on the resume of his career that even Masiello won't be able to redact.
