Most MBA graduates put their degrees to use in the boardrooms of the business world. Marriott School alum Hugh McCutcheon, however, took his to the locker room and the arena of international volleyball. The former BYU men’s volleyball assistant coach recently took the job as head coach of the U.S. Olympic Men’s Volleyball Team. He replaces longtime coach Doug Beal, who became CEO of USA Volleyball.
“I’m certainly honored, humbled, and excited to have this opportunity,” McCutcheon says.
Since starting in April, the new head coach has been busy hiring and training new staff, athletic trainers, and assistant coaches, as well as trying to get members of the team—scattered across the globe—together in the gym. Many members of last year’s national team are playing volleyball in professional leagues all over the world.
McCutcheon says he takes the challenges one day at a time. “I wake up every day and ask, ‘What are we going to do to be the best team in the world today?’” he says. “You don’t take this job trying to be the fourth best team in the world, which is where the team is currently ranked; you do it to be the best. It’s a goal you can invest yourself in completely, but it can become very consuming. It takes a lot of time and mental and physical energy.”
No stranger to pressure, McCutcheon’s resumé of experience stacks higher than his vertical leap. As assistant coach he helped lead the U.S.A. men’s team to the bronze medal match against Russia in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. The New Zealand native says competing at that level is an awesome experience.
“The Olympic Games is this wonderful event for sports, the world, and humanity,” McCutcheon says. “It’s a lot of work, and it takes a lot of energy to make sure the guys and the game plans are ready. We got to the medal round, and a lot of people didn’t expect us to make it that far.”
Before working with USA Volleyball, McCutcheon coached the Vienna Hotvolleys to victory in the 2001–2002 Inter-Liga, Austrian Cup, and Austrian League championships.
While an assistant coach at BYU, the team posted a record of 138 wins and 44 losses from 1995 to 2001. BYU also won the NCAA championship twice in 2001 and 1999. It was during this time he decided to take advantage of the learning opportunities available and pursue an executive MBA.
“I decided to do an MBA after earning my MS degree in exercise science,” he says. “Because coaching can be such a fickle vocation, I decided to get a real-world learning experience. Obviously I was not a typical student. Other students would show up to class in suits and ties, and I would arrive from the gym in shorts and a T-shirt.”
The connection between coaching and business may not be obvious at first. However, McCutcheon sees some strong parallels, “They are both about trying to build successful organizations,” he says. “I really enjoyed my time at the Marriott School; I thought it was a wonderful educational experience, and it has really helped me a lot.”
