Minnesotans first came to know Hugh McCutcheon under unimaginably cruel circumstances. In 2008, when he was coach of the U.S. Olympic men's volleyball team, his father-in-law, Todd Bachman, was stabbed to death in a random attack at the Summer Games in Beijing.
McCutcheon's family steers career path again
From an Olympics tragedy to his new job as Gophers volleyball coach, Hugh McCutcheon is guided by those closest to him.
February 11, 2011 at 12:42PM
McCutcheon spent six days at the bedside of Bachman's wife, Barbara, who was gravely wounded. He would remain there as long as necessary, entrusting his team to his assistant coaches. "Volleyball is my job," McCutcheon said then. "My family is my life."
His philosophy hasn't changed, but his ability to join the two just got much easier. Thursday, it was announced that McCutcheon will become the Gophers' new volleyball coach sometime in the next 18 months, enabling his young family to settle in his wife's hometown. The timing, he said, was "atrocious"; he is currently coaching the U.S. women's national team and is under contract to lead it through the 2012 Summer Olympics.
That didn't deter him from making a choice that felt right. McCutcheon understands better than many how suddenly life can be knocked off course. So he followed the path that was calling him, with the faith that the details will be worked out.
"A lot of [the decision] was about family," said McCutcheon, whose wife, Elisabeth (Wiz) Bachman, is a Lakeville native. "As we started our family, the possibility of being home an extra 60 days a year was enticing, and also the idea of having a more normal rhythm to our daily lives.
"Coming to Minnesota was something we always looked at and thought was a good possibility for us. This just seemed like a really good opportunity that made sense on a lot of levels."
McCutcheon, 41, has not decided how long he will stay with the national team. At the latest, he will join the Gophers in September 2012, after the London Olympics. Laura Bush -- an assistant to former head coach Mike Hebert, who retired in December -- will serve as interim head coach, then assist McCutcheon when he comes to the U.
His new job unites McCutcheon, his wife and their baby son, Andrew, with Wiz's family, which owns the iconic Twin Cities chain of flower and garden stores. When they met, he was a coach rising through the USA Volleyball ranks, and she was a standout volleyball player who made the 2004 Olympic team. They were married in 2006, a year after McCutcheon had become head coach of the U.S. men's team.
Todd and Barbara Bachman had traveled to Beijing to watch their son-in-law lead the Olympic team. They were attacked at a tourist site on the opening day of the Games. After Barbara's condition stabilized, McCutcheon -- who demonstrated remarkable grace and courage during the ordeal -- returned to his team and led it to an upset of Brazil in the gold medal match.
Late in 2008, McCutcheon was named coach of the U.S. women's team. He had no intention of changing jobs, but he was willing to listen when Gophers athletic director Joel Maturi called him in December. The two had been introduced a couple of years earlier by Hebert, and when Hebert retired, Maturi decided to pursue the man he called his dream candidate.
McCutcheon was lured by the sustained success of the Gophers program, the strong support it enjoys and a schedule that wouldn't take him out of the country for 30-day stretches. Maturi was willing to be flexible with a start date. Thursday, he was ecstatic to announce the hire.
"We just hired the Mike Krzyzewski of volleyball," Maturi said. "If he needs to fill out his commitment through the Olympics, it's OK. This is a long-term commitment. I'm not worried about the next 18 months."
McCutcheon will return to the college game for the first time since 2001, when he finished a seven-year stint as assistant coach and head recruiter for the men's team at Brigham Young. He played for the Cougars in the early 1990s after coming to the U.S. from his native New Zealand.
He takes over a program primed to remain among the country's best. The Gophers, who made three Final Fours during Hebert's 15-year tenure, finished the season with a No. 10 national ranking after losing to California in the NCAA regional semifinals. With all that potential -- plus more family time -- McCutcheon is excited to follow a sudden change in a very satisfying direction.
"Every day is a gift, and you never know what life is going to throw your way," he said. "Wiz and I are both extremely happy."
Rachel Blount • rblount@startribune.com
Dawson Garcia’s 20 points and Femi Odukale’s 18 led Minnesota to its first victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena since 2015.
