Dennis Cutts joined the NAU Athletic Department as Associate Athletic Director for Administration in September 2026. He serves as sport administrator for the soccer, men's tennis and women's tennis programs.

Cutts brings over 25 years of experience as a coach in the NCAA, NBA G League and FIBA Basketball to his role in which he will provide administrative and coaching support, with a strategic focus on both the NAU Men’s and Women’s Basketball programs. Among his coaching experience is a stint as an assistant coach under Mike Adras at NAU from 1999-2002, during which the Lumberjack men’s basketball program went to the NCAA Tournament in 2000.

Most recently, Cutts served as head coach with Halcones de Ciudad Obregon in 2024 following stints as an assistant coach with the Austin Spurs (San Antonio Spurs G League Affiliate; 2022-23) and Wisconsin Herd (Milwaukee Bucks G League Affiliate; 2019-22).

Cutts spent nearly 11 years at UC Riverside, including the last five as head men’s basketball coach from 2013-18. Serving as interim head coach during the 2013-14 season, Cutts nearly doubled the program’s win total from the previous year, and was then named one of 10 finalists for the 2015 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year award after the Highlanders notched their second-highest overall win and Big West win totals in their Division I history.  

Cutts arrived at UC Riverside initially as an assistant coach in 2007 after time at Kansas State as Director of Basketball Operations (2005-06) and San Jose State as Associate Head Coach (2002-05). While at NAU, Cutts helped lead NAU to its most recent NCAA Tournament appearance during a 20-11 season in 1999-2000.

He reached the Division I level in 1996 joining the staff at Stephen F. Austin and spent three years there. Cutts originally got his coaching career started in Arizona with three seasons as an assistant coach at Pima Community College (1991-94) in Tucson and Northland Pioneer College (1994-96) in Holbrook.

Originally from Massapequa Park, N.Y., Cutts was a four-year letterwinner at the University at Albany. He was part of four winning seasons, including three 20-win campaigns, and was a team captain and team’s Most Valuable Player as a senior. That season, Albany reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Cutts graduated from Albany in 1990 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology with a minor in business administration. He is joined in Flagstaff by his wife, Evon, who is a Flagstaff native.