Hugh Donald McCutcheon (born 13 October 1969), a native of

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

, New Zealand, is a former

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

coach. He previously coached the US men's and women's national volleyball team, and was the head coach for the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

's women's volleyball team from 2012–2022. Starting in January 2023, McCutcheon is the assistant athletics director/sport development coach at Minnesota, after announcing his resignation from the volleyball team at the conclusion of the 2022 season. McCutcheon was a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

national team volleyball player. He played on the New Zealand junior and senior national teams from 1988 to 1990 before coming to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and lettered in volleyball and

field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

Shirley Boys' High School Shirley Boys' High School (known as SBHS) is a single sex state (public) secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was originally situated on a 6 hectare site in the suburb of Shirley, but in April 2019 moved, along with Avonside ...

. He was also a member of New Zealand’s national team in 1996 and represented his country on the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 1997.

College

McCutcheon played for

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

from 1991 to 1993 after transferring from the University of Canterbury in

. After receiving his

bachelor’s degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

from BYU in 1993, McCutcheon played professionally for two years in

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and Japan before returning to BYU to complete his master’s degree in

exercise science Exercise physiology is the physiology of physical exercise. It is one of the allied health professions, and involves the study of the acute responses and chronic adaptations to exercise. Exercise physiologists are the highest qualified exercise ...

in 1998. In 1999, McCutcheon received an MBA from BYU’s

Marriott School of Management The Marriott School of Business is the business school of Brigham Young University (BYU), a private university owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and located in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1891 and renamed i ...

Coaching history

McCutcheon was the top assistant coach and recruiter under head coach Carl McGown for

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

from 1995 to 2001. During that time, the Cougars posted a record of 138-44 and captured two

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

men’s volleyball championships (1999 and 2001). After leaving BYU, McCutcheon was the head coach of the Vienna Hotvolleys in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

for two seasons. In his first season there, the Hotvolleys won the 2001-02 Inter-Liga, Austrian Cup and Austrian League championships, and he had the opportunity to work with USA national team players Rich Lambourne, Dave McKienzie,

Adam Naeve Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Book of Genesis, Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a coll ...

, Reid Priddy and Brandon Taliaferro. He also coached the first Austrian team to ever beat an Italian A1 opponent. McCutcheon also served as a volunteer assistant coach for the men’s national team, helping out during the 2001

Volleyball World League The FIVB Volleyball World League was an annual international men's volleyball competition. Created in 1990, it was the longest and richest of all the international events organized by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). The wome ...

, the 2002 World Championships and on five international tours. He has also served as the head coach of the USA Boys Youth National Team in 2000 and 2001. He joined

USA Volleyball USA Volleyball (USAV) is a non-profit organization which is recognized as the national governing body of volleyball in the United States by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) and the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). It ...

as a full-time assistant coach for the men’s national team program in April 2003. On 3 February 2005, USA Volleyball introduced McCutcheon as the new head coach of the USA men’s national volleyball team. He took over the position from long-time head coach

Doug Beal Doug Beal (born March 4, 1947, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American volleyball player and coach, a former USA Volleyball CEO, and a member of the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Education * Master's degree in Education from Bowling G ...

, who resigned to become the new

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especial ...

of USA Volleyball. On 15 December 2008, it was announced that McCutcheon accepted the head coach position of the U.S. Women's National Team for the 2009-2012 Olympic quadrennial. On 10 February 2011, McCutcheon was named head coach of the University of Minnesota's volleyball team. He joined the Gophers on 30 August 2012 after fulfilling his obligations with the National Team. On 10 October 2022, University of Minnesota Director of Athletics Mark Coyle announced that Hugh McCutcheon will transition to a newly create role of Assistant Athletic Director/Sport Development Coach effective on 1 January 2023.

US Men's National Team head coach

The team went 27–6 in McCutcheon's first year as head coach and won five medals in five tournaments. They earned a silver medal at the USOC International Sports Invitational in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, gold medals at the America's Cup in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, the FIVB World Championship Qualifying Tournament in

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

and the NORCECA Continental Championship in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and another silver medal at the FIVB World Grand Champions Cup in Japan. The squad posted wins over the

2004 Olympic The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

gold and silver medalists during the year (

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, respectively), registered the highest winning percentage of any men’s national team since 1988 (.818) and recorded the most wins by a men’s team since 2000 (27). The Americans finished the year by winning 18 of their last 19 matches, including 14-straight at one point and ranked fifth in the world. In 2008, the US men's national team led by McCutcheon won the

. He led the USA men's volleyball team to the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

for the first time since 1988, defeating gold-medal favorite Brazil in four sets. This is the third gold medal overall for the men's volleyball team with the first being won in 1984.

US Women's National Team head coach

At the 2012 Olympics, the USA Women's Team advanced to the gold medal game. However, they lost to

in four sets.

Head Coaching record

Personal life

On 9 August 2008, the day after the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics, the parents of McCutcheon's wife, former Olympian

Elisabeth Bachman Elisabeth Anne "Wiz" Bachman (born November 7, 1978) is a retired volleyball player from the United States, who represented her native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. There she finished in fifth place with the USA Nationa ...

, were attacked at Drum Tower. His father-in-law Todd Bachman was killed and his mother-in-law Barbara Bachman was seriously injured. A 47-year-old Chinese man named Tang Yongming assaulted them at the Drum Tower eight kilometres from the main Olympic site before leaping to his death from the 40-metre high balcony. McCutcheon was away from the team for 3 matches during the tournament, before returning to lead the team to the gold medal.

Individual awards and honours

* '' 2007 NORCECA Men's Championship "Best Coach"'' * '' 2011 NORCECA Women's Championship "Eugenio Laffita Award"'' * 2015 Big Ten Coach of the Year * 2015 AVCA Coach of the Year In the

2016 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...

, McCutcheon was appointed a

Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have ren ...

for services to volleyball.

References

External links

Hugh McCutcheon's official staff bio
a
USA Volleyball
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCutcheon, Hugh 1969 births Living people American men's volleyball players BYU Cougars men's volleyball players American volleyball coaches Minnesota Golden Gophers women's volleyball coaches New Zealand men's volleyball players New Zealand volleyball coaches American Olympic coaches Brigham Young University alumni National team coaches Sportspeople from Christchurch People educated at Shirley Boys' High School Members of the New Zealand Order of Merit