Suspension Details
The Catholic High School Athletic Association, known as CHSAA, announced last week that it has suspended Archbishop Stepinac High School’s varsity basketball coach, Patrick Massaroni, for a span of seven games in the upcoming 2026‑27 season.
The sanction follows the team’s unexpected run to the Chipotle Nationals invitational in Fishers, Indiana, where they competed on Wednesday, April 1, a day that falls within the Triduum period observed by the Archdiocese of New York. CHSAA regulations explicitly forbid tournament play on Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, and the Stepinac squad’s schedule placed them in violation of those directives.
After a private meeting that included school administrators and Bishop Edmund Whalen, the archdiocese’s vicar general, the association settled on a package of penalties. In addition to the coach’s suspension, postseason eligibility and out‑of‑state travel restrictions were initially proposed, but those measures were ultimately withdrawn after negotiations.
Massaroni, who has led the program to national prominence since taking the helm in 2015, accepted the seven‑game ban without contest. The suspension will be served during the varsity team’s first five league contests and the first two non‑league matchups, a timeline that will keep him out of action for the early portion of the season.
A Record of Excellence
Under Massaroni’s guidance, Stepinac captured three McDonald’s All‑American players in the 2025‑26 season and repeated as archdiocesan, intersectional and all‑city champions. The coach’s decision to stay at Stepinac, rejecting overtures from the Florida‑based IMG Academy, reflects his long‑term vision for the program.