Jeff Rutter

The 2023-24 season equates to a dozen years that Head Coach Jeff Rutter and Arizona Christian Men’s Basketball have been intertwined. Along with his coaching duties, Coach Rutter serves as the Vice President of Athletic Enrollment and Club Sports for Arizona Christian University.

Three Peat- 2022-23 saw the Firestorm win their third straight GSAC Regular Season Championship! ACU returned to the NAIA National Tournament for the fifth straight year. For the first time at Arizona Christian, ACU hosted the First and Second Rounds of a NAIA National Championship. ACU advanced to the final site in Kansas City, MO, and moved on to the quarterfinals.

Historical is the best way to describe the 2021-22 season. After winning their second straight GSAC Regular Season Championship, the Firestorm advanced all the way to the semifinals of the NAIA National Championships. The 31 overall and 15 GSAC wins for ACU were a program best. Coach Rutter collected his second GSAC Coach of the Year honor.

Winning a GSAC Regular Season Championship for the first time in program history highlighted the 2020-21 campaign. The Firestorm qualified for the NAIA National Championships for the seventh time in the last nine seasons. Coach Rutter was named the GSAC Coach of the Year after a 10-0 run through the GSAC East for ACU. As a team, Arizona Christian finished second in the GSAC in scoring at 88.4 points per game and points allowed (70.6).

A magic run through the GSAC Tournament brought the Firestorm their first GSAC Tournament Championship to close out a COVID shortened season. The 25 season wins and 12 GSAC wins both tied then season highs. The ACU men averaged 88.8 points per game to top the GSAC and finish eighth in NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball.

By advancing to the NAIA Quarterfinals and falling by just two points to the eventual champs, the 2018-19 season was the most successful in ACU program history. The 25 wins tied a then program season best mark. The 149 career wins in seven seasons moved Coach Rutter to the top of the ACU Men’s Basketball wins list.

ACU went a combined 33-25 in the 2017-18 and 2016-17 seasons.

Over his first four years, ACU MBB, the NAIA National Championships, and twenty plus win seasons were all synonymous.

The 2015-16 season closed out the beginning years of Coach Rutter’s tenure as the four year members of his first recruiting class graduated. His first ever ACU recruits teamed with Rutter to produce a record of 91-36 and four straight trips to the NAIA National Championships. Rutter coached teams made Fultz Memorial Gym a miserable place for opponents to play as the Firestorm were 54-6 (.900) at home from 2012-13 through 2015-16.

In 2015-16, the Firestorm advanced to the second round of the NAIA Championships after beating William Carey in the first round. ACU fell to top seeded Georgetown College and ended with a record of 23-9 after a third place run of 10-6 run through Golden State Athletic Conference play.

A twenty-five win season (25-9) in 2014-15 established an ACU program season high for wins which was tied twice before being broken. Going 12-4 in the GSAC resulted in a third place finish and marked the most wins for Arizona Christian in a GSAC play. The Firestorm earned their first ever win in the NAIA tournament with a 94-82 win over Georgetown College before coming up just short 61-59 against Cal State San Marcos in the second round.

The 2013-14 campaign began with a 92-85 exhibition win over NCAA Division I Northern Arizona University and ended with a first round NAIA Nationals loss to Culver-Stockton College. ACU produced a record of 23-8 and a second place finish in GSAC play thanks to a 9-5 record.

Coach Rutter’s ACU career started in 2012-13 and was highlighted by one of the most entertaining basketball games in recent memory- a 112-111 double overtime ACU loss to Concordia University Irvine in the GSAC Tournament championship game. In their first ever appearance at the NAIA National Tournament, the Firestorm dropped an 83-73 result to Oklahoma Baptist University. Playing their first season in the Golden State Athletic Conference, the Firestorm concluded Rutter’s first season at ACU 20-10 and 8-6 in GSAC play.

Fourteen different players have earned All-GSAC honors while eight have earned NAIA All-American First Team, Second Team or honorable mention accolades under Coach Rutter. However, Coach Rutter is most proud of the fact that 16 players have earned NAIA and GSAC Scholar-Athlete recognition. The team has qualified six times as a NAIA Scholar-Team including 2015-16 when ACU topped all GSAC MBB teams in GPA.

Prior to taking over at Arizona Christian, Coach Rutter spent 10 years as an Assistant Coach at Azusa Pacific University and the previous two years as an Assistant Coach at California Baptist University. With Rutter as a main recruiter and fundraiser for those teams, they combined for a 341-111 record (.754) during his 12 years as an assistant.

Before coaching, Rutter played two years at Concordia University Irvine and two years at Cypress College. He earned All-Orange Empire League honors as a sophomore at Cypress after scoring 14 points a game on the strength of 79 made three pointers. He stands third in the Cypress archives with 147 career three pointers.

Academically, Coach Rutter earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership from Biola University in 2005.

Coach Rutter and his wife, Kristen, have four daughters and one son. The Rutter family attends Scottsdale Bible Church.