The Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) of the Archdiocese of New York has suspended Archbishop Stepinac High School Head Basketball Coach Patrick Massaroni for seven games in the 2026-27 season, the sports governing body announced Thursday.

Members of the Crusaders’ varsity basketball team participated in the Chipotle Nationals invitational basketball tournament in Fishers, Indiana, scheduled for April 1-4, which this year coincided with Wednesday through Saturday of Holy Week. CHSAA teams are forbidden from committing to competitions that take place on Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday, inclusive. The Stepinac team played one game on Wednesday, April 1, losing to Ohio’s Spire Academy 87-76, then returned to New York.

The CHSAA found Stepinac’s attendance at the Indiana tournament to be in violation of the Holy Week rule and proposed sanctions that included a multiple-game suspension for Massaroni, a ban from postseason play, a ban on out-of-state travel for games against non-conference opponents, and the possibility of all Stepinac sports, not just basketball, being penalized.

“On Friday, May 15, 2026, I met with Father Tom Collins and Mr. Paul Carty of Archbishop Stepinac. Together with Bishop Edmund Whalen, we reviewed the sanctions imposed by the Archdiocesan Boys’ CHSAA on the Archbishop Stepinac basketball program,” said Kevin J. Pigott, president of the Boys’ CHSAA, in a letter sent by email Thursday. Bishop Whalen is the archdiocese’s vicar general.

Two-time Coach of the Year recommitted to Stepinac in April

“Following our discussion, it was mutually agreed that Head Varsity Basketball Coach Pat Massaroni will serve a seven-game suspension during the 2026-2027 season. The suspension will consist of the varsity team’s first five league games and first two non-league games.

“We are grateful to Bishop Whalen for his guidance and leadership in helping bring this matter to a resolution,” Pigott wrote.

Massaroni said in a letter also sent by email, “I am happy to announce that all penalties that would have negatively impacted the student-athletes at Stepinac have been lifted, which was always my primary concern and focus.”

“I have always put the best interests of our school and our students/players ahead of all else and therefore accept this ruling so we can put this situation behind us and return the focus to the amazing accomplishments of our school, program, and this special group of student athletes from this past season,” Massaroni wrote.

Since joining as head basketball coach in the spring of 2015, Massaroni has twice been named CHSAA Coach of the Year and has turned the White Plains school’s basketball program into a national powerhouse. The 2025-26 varsity team featured three McDonald’s All-Americans — Adonis Ratliff, Darius Ratliff, and Jasiah Jervis — and repeated as the archdiocese, intersectional (vs. Diocese of Brooklyn), and all-city champions. A Stepinac alumnus, Massaroni now has the most basketball wins as a coach in the school’s history. 

In April, Massaroni ended speculation about his future at Stepinac by recommitting as head basketball coach, turning down an offer from Florida sports incubator IMG Academy.