An alumnus of Murphy High in Mobile and Stanford University, Maisel began his career at The Atlanta Constitution in 1981, where he covered Clemson's unlikely run to the national championship.

He began covering national college football in 1987 for the Dallas Morning News, then moved to Newsday in 1994.

Maisel served as the Editor-at-Large of ESPN College Football 150, the multi-platform project commemorating the 2019 sesquicentennial of the sport.

In 2020, the College Sports Information Directors of America presented Maisel the Jake Wade Award for his contribution to intercollegiate athletics.

Later that year he signed a contract with Hachette to write a biography of former Notre Dame head coach Frank Leahy, which will be published in September 2025.

Maisel's son, Max, went missing and was last seen on Sunday, February 22, 2015 leaving his apartment complex in Rochester, NY.