Former University of Minnesota Volleyball Head Coach, current University of Minnesota Assistant Athletic Director Hugh McCutcheon will be inducted into the U.S. Volleyball Hall of Fame on May 22 in Columbus, Ohio. McCutcheon will be inducted into the Hall of Fame along with volleyball leaders Jennifer Urmson Dyer, Doug Beal, Fred Buehler, Kevin Twohig and Kevin Wendelbaugh.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center the day before the 2024 U.S. Volleyball Open National Championship begins. McCutcheon received the Harry E. Wilson Award for her contributions to international volleyball.
A world-renowned coach, McCutcheon was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2018. He also won the 2008 USOC National Coach of the Year, the USOC National Volleyball Coach of the Year three times, the 2013 USA Volleyball All-Time Great Coach Award, and the 2016 New Zealand Order of Merit. From 2012 until 2016 he served as secretary of the FIVB Technical Committee and Coaches Committee, and then from 2017 he served as chairman of the same committee until 2021. He currently consults with the FIVB as a senior advisor.
McCutcheon led the U.S. men's national volleyball program to a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In 2008, the U.S. Men's National Team enjoyed one of its best seasons in history under McCutcheon's guidance. The team won all three major tournaments that year. That includes the United States' first FIVB World League Championship, which ended in bronze in 2008. The 2007 tournament marked the first time Americans won back-to-back medals at the annual tournament.
Less than four months after leading the U.S. men's team to a gold medal, McCutcheon moved on to the head coaching position of the U.S. women's national team. He led the U.S. women's team to a 106-39 record in four years, including a silver medal at the 2012 London Olympics, making him one of only two coaches in history to win medals for both men and women. In addition, the team won the FIVB Grand Prix in 2010, 2011 and 2012, which he won three years in a row, and in 2012 he became number 1 in the world ranking.
After her time with USA Volleyball, McCutcheon served as the head coach at the University of Minnesota for 11 seasons. McCutcheon, who was named the 2015 AVCA National Coach of the Year and the 2015/2018 Big Ten Coach of the Year, continues Minnesota's long tradition as a volleyball power. contributed to its continuation. Since arriving on campus in 2012, McCutcheon has led the Gophers to three NCAA Final Fours, two Big Ten championships, five Elite Eight finishes and 10 Sweet 16 appearances in 11 years. He held a collegiate coaching record of 277 wins and 74 losses (.789). By percentage, he is the winningest coach in Minnesota volleyball history, second only to Mike Hebert for most wins by a Gophers head coach.
McCutcheon's love of volleyball was developed in New Zealand, where she played on the junior and senior national teams from 1988 to 1990, before coming to the United States to play in college. He was also a member of his 1996 New Zealand national team and in 1997 he represented the country on his FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.
Hugh McCutcheon
(Information and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
