FS1 Celebrates a College Basketball Legend THE MAESTRO: THE ROLLIE MASSIMINO STORY
Hour-Long Original Documentary Chronicles Massimino’s Final Season Coaching NAIA Division II Keiser University
NEW YORK, NY – FOX Sports pays tribute to one of college basketball’s all-time great coaches with a new original documentary, THE MAESTRO: THE ROLLIE MASSIMINO STORY, debuting Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 11:00 PM ET on FS1 following the Seton Hall at Villanova college basketball game. THE MAESTRO chronicles former NCAA Champion coach Rollie Massimino’s final season with Keiser University, an NAIA Division II program, while he battled brain and lung cancer.
THE MAESTRO: THE ROLLIE MASSIMINO STORY is produced by FOX Sports and Point Road Productions, led by Billy Raftery (son of FOX Sports college basketball analyst Bill Raftery), NBA veteran Grant Hill, college basketball personality Jay Bilas and Olivia Zimmerman.
The late Massimino, who led his Villanova team to victory over Georgetown for the 1985 NCAA Championship, created a family atmosphere among his staff and players at Keiser, where he spent the last 11 years of his career, teaching lessons that extended far beyond the basketball court. Not only did Massimino live with his assistant coaches and invite his players over for Thanksgiving dinner, he focused on graduation – an accomplishment he revered above anything on the court. THE MAESTRO highlights these important relationships, focusing on one of Coach Mass’s lifelong lessons: “When adversity strikes, the true guy comes out.”
THE MAESTRO also captures both the highs and lows of Massimino’s final year as a coach before he passed away on August 30, 2017. During the 2016-17 season and his team’s battle to qualify for the NAIA Tournament, Massimino earned his 800th career win but also dealt with the disappointment of not being selected for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. However, the relationships and personal successes of his players drove Massimino to continue his long and storied coaching career.
