Hugh McCutcheon will leave full-time University of Minnesota athletics employment on June 14, 2026, to focus on his FIVB Secretary General role ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The Christchurch, New Zealand native has spent 14 years at Minnesota, the first 11 as head women’s volleyball coach and the rest as assistant athletic director.
The University of Minnesota athletics department set the timeline in a June 9 Gopher Athletics release, his last day as a full-time Golden Gopher employee five days after the announcement. McCutcheon will continue advising department stakeholders in a defined advisory role, the release says, paired with the FIVB position he has held full-time since November 2024.
The June 14 Departure and What Remains
McCutcheon’s last day as a full-time Golden Gopher employee is June 14, 2026, per the release. After that, the coach who led the program to three NCAA Final Fours returns in an advisory capacity only.
McCutcheon called the past 14 years at Minnesota an honor and a privilege, said the change was not goodbye, and thanked Joel Maturi for showing him the potential of the program and recruiting him in 2012. He also thanked Mark Coyle for his belief and support, especially through the transition from coaching to administration in late 2022. The release credits the institutional support with shaping his FIVB transition. McCutcheon stays available to Minnesota stakeholders past June 14 in a defined advisory role.
McCutcheon’s relationship with the department does not end on June 14. The release says he will still be available to advise and consult ICA stakeholders, the announcement’s language, with no fixed hours or title attached. That keeps the door open for occasional input on program development while he runs FIVB operations from Lausanne.
It’s been an honor and a privilege to work at the University of Minnesota for the last 14 years.
Eleven Years on the Minnesota Bench
Hugh McCutcheon, the FIVB Secretary General since November 2024, said the line in a University of Minnesota athletics release dated June 9, 2026. He had finished his 11th and final season as Gophers head coach in 2022 with a career record of 277-74 and a .789 winning percentage, the best in program history. He arrived in August 2012, the same year he wrapped his USA women’s team head coaching run at the London Olympics, and led Minnesota to a 27-8 first season and an Elite Eight finish. He won two Big Ten titles, in 2015 and 2018, and the 2015 AVCA National Coach of the Year award, then repeated as Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2018.
In 11 seasons the Gophers made three Final Fours, five Elite Eights, and 10 Sweet 16s. He coached six players to Big Ten Player of the Year, including Sarah Wilhite, who in 2016 also won the AVCA and ESPNW National Player of the Year.
By the time he stepped down in December 2022, McCutcheon had collected 37 AVCA All-America honors and 60 All-Big Ten selections through his program. The release calls him one of the most decorated coaches in volleyball history. He left the bench on his own terms. The release frames the December 2022 retirement and the subsequent assistant athletic director move as a single arc toward international work. The FIVB senior advisor title that arrived in 2023 was the next station, with the Paris Olympics that summer his first major event in the new role. The November 2024 Secretary General appointment put the Minnesota post in a slow fade.
- 277-74 record over 11 seasons at Minnesota
- 3 Final Fours, 5 Elite Eights, 10 Sweet 16s
- 2 Big Ten Championships (2015, 2018)
- 6 Big Ten Players of the Year in 11 seasons
- 37 AVCA All-America honors, 60 All-Big Ten selections
An Olympic Pedigree Built on Two Different Teams
McCutcheon is the only USA team-sport coach to medal with both the men’s and women’s Olympic teams, a distinction the Minnesota release still cites as the foundation of his international standing. He started as an assistant coach with the USA men at the 2004 Athens Games, then was named head coach in 2005. The release notes he was inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2018 as the first New Zealander honored.
Over the next quadrennial his USA men won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, captured the FIVB World League title, and finished ranked No. 2 in the world. He then moved to the USA women in 2009, a switch the release frames as a first in modern USA Volleyball. The women took silver at the 2012 London Games, won three FIVB Grand Prix titles, and finished ranked No. 1 in the world at the end of his tenure. He holds a three-time USOC Volleyball Coach of the Year distinction, a recognition the release ties to his USA national team tenure.
FIVB Secretary General Since November 2024
McCutcheon has been FIVB Secretary General since November 2024, a position the Minnesota release describes as synonymous with a CEO role in the business world. From that seat he has attended the FIVB Women’s World Championship in Thailand, the Men’s World Championship in the Philippines, and the Beach World Championship in Australia in 2025, then the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano, Italy.
The post covers two Olympic Games on the calendar, Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032. McCutcheon presented the FIVB Strategic Vision 2032 to the American Volleyball Coaches Association convention, laying out the FIVB’s four core pillars: Professionalism, Integration, Empowerment, and Mass Participation, in a four-pillar strategic roadmap to 2032. He works with the FIVB’s commercial arm, Volleyball World, on signature events like the Volleyball Nations League, the FIVB World Cup, and the FIVB Beach Pro Tour, in addition to his Olympic portfolio. He also assists Continental Confederations and National Federations in developing their own events and national teams.
Volleyball and beach volleyball have confirmed LA28 venue locations, putting the Secretary General’s event-management workload on the front of his calendar as the opening ceremonies approach.
| Pillar | Aim, per the FIVB |
|---|---|
| Professionalism | elevate volleyball’s global standing |
| Integration | unite communities across the sport |
| Empowerment | inspire societal change |
| Mass Participation | ensure a brighter future through access |
What Minnesota Keeps and What It Loses
McCutcheon will not vanish from the program. The release says he will continue to advise athletic department stakeholders, a phrase that covers coaches, sports medicine staff, and student-athletes. His book, Championship Behaviors, is part of the department’s coach development work, the principles inside it applied to coaches and student-athletes per the release.
His daily presence on campus is what changes. The release says he won’t be on campus nearly as much.
The transition has been years in the making. McCutcheon’s December 2022 retirement from coaching was followed by a move into the assistant athletic director role, with the FIVB senior advisor title arriving in 2023. A return to the Paris Olympics that summer for indoor and beach volleyball oversight, the FIVB Technical and Coaching Commission President title he held through 2024, and the November 2024 Secretary General appointment each came during the period after his retirement. The release makes no mention of a successor.
Hall of Fame Trifecta and the LA28 Clock
The 2024 AVCA Hall of Fame induction completed a trifecta for McCutcheon. He entered the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2018, the AVCA Hall of Fame in 2024, and the USA Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2024, the FIVB says the trifecta is shared by only eight coaches in the volleyball community. He was also named a 2016 New Zealand Order of Merit recipient and a three-time USOC Volleyball Coach of the Year.
His post-coaching work has been continuous. As FIVB senior advisor in 2023 he attended the Paris Olympics and helped oversee indoor and beach volleyball competitions. He was FIVB Technical and Coaching Commission President while still Minnesota’s head coach, a dual role he held until the Secretary General job arrived. The 2008 USOC Coach of the Year award came during his USA men’s run, per the release.
- Volleyball Nations League
- FIVB World Cup
- FIVB Beach Pro Tour
- 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles (indoor and beach volleyball)
- 2032 Summer Olympics in Brisbane
The Quiet Hand-Off
The June 9 release is short on succession detail. McCutcheon’s assistant athletic director title had no direct replacement listed in the announcement, and the advisory clause is the part that endures.
He framed the role change as gratitude paired with a new focus in the release, always grateful to the University while excited to continue the FIVB work. His FIVB future starts in earnest the day after his Minnesota tenure ends, with the LA28 opening ceremonies and Brisbane 2032 both on the calendar ahead.
