cutino scholarship award
In the spring of 2005 the Peter J. Cutino Scholarship Award was established to honor the outstanding male and female sophomore student athletes at Monterey Peninsula College. The chosen athletes embody the Cutino spirit by exemplifying excellence both athletically and academically. The awards are given during the annual MPC Hall of Fame Banquet.
Peter J. Cutino was born in Monterey in 1933. Pete grew up in and around Monterey. He attended Monterey High School and Monterey Peninsula College before transferring to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He starred on the swim team at Monterey High and MPC, and earned all-conference honors for three season at Cal Poly, graduating in 1957, and being named their Outstanding Athlete the same year.
Pete Cutino's distinguished teaching and coaching careers started at Oxnard High School, where he led his swim team to 60 consecutive dual meet victories, five league championships, and two California Interscholastic Federation championships. His water polo teams established an overall record of 80 wins and 16 losses.
In 1963, Pete began coaching water polo and swimming at the University of California. At Berkeley each of his swim teams from 1963 to 1974 had a winning season, and his water polo teams established an unprecedented record of winning eight NCAA titles, as well as having been the runner-up four times. In his 26 years as a coach at Cal, Pete was the all-time most winning coach in U.S. water polo history. Pete retired in 1989 on the momentum of a 33-game win streak and a second straight NCAA title. He coached 68 All-Americans, six Pac-10 and NCAA Players-of-the-Year, and many Olympians. He was the head coach of the U.S. National Water Polo team from 1972-76.
Pete returned to the community he loved in 1989, when he served as the Director of the Monterey Sports Center. Pete fought relentlessly - and unflinchingly - on behalf of building pools suitable for water polo and swimming training and competition. For Pete it was always about providing opportunities for everyone of all levels, from the beginner to the world-class athlete.
Pete was frequently honored as an educator and coach. He was presented the U.S. Congressional Award by the Honorable Leon E. Panetta, recognized as Distinguished Alumnus-of-the-Year from Cal Poly, and has been inducted into eight Halls of Fame, including one of the first inductees into the Monterey Peninsula College Lobo Hall of Fame.