Zimmerman shows passion for Razorbacks in HSV
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE — Color analyst Matt Zimmerman co-emceed the Hot Springs Village Razorback Club spring event with Quinn Grovey and head football coach Sam Pittman Feb. 23 at the Coronado Center.
Zimmerman, an Arkansas native, attended Wonderview High as a player and had a record of 133-19. He finished state runner-up in his junior year.
“I am from about 10 miles north of Morrilton,” Zimmerman said. “It is central Arkansas, but not close to Hot Springs. Basketball was very important to the school I went to. Everyone there cared about basketball. I knew in the first grade how important basketball was. I still remember those games like they were a month ago.”
Zimmerman attended the University of Arkansas and worked under head coach Nolan Richardson as a basketball assistant for the Razorbacks.
“I coached high school basketball at Plainview, which is between Hot Springs and Russellville,” Zimmerman said. “I tried to walk-on at Arkansas and then I was made a student manager by coach Richardson. This is my third trip around with the Razorbacks.”
Zimmerman highlighted his time with coach Richardson.
“It was really special working with coach Richardson,” he said. “He was a tough coach and a very good man. He was a winner. He just knew how to turn players into the best they could be, and he was a good motivator. Coach Richardson was old school. He was tough on kids, but he pushed them. I was fortunate enough to be on some great teams.”
In 2011, Zimmerman returned to the Hill as an assistant coach with Mike Anderson.
“Anderson hired me to go to UAB as an assistant,” Zimmerman said. “We won a lot of games there in four years and then we got hired at Missouri for five years. I was an assistant at Arkansas for eight years.”
Zimmerman joined the voice of the Razorbacks Chuck Barrett in 2015 as a color analyst for Razorback basketball with the Razorback Sports Network.
“For me to stay in coaching I was going to have to move,” Zimmerman said. “I loved coaching, but I love the Razorbacks. Broadcasting was an opportunity to stay and be involved in Arkansas athletics. Chuck is a professional, and he does a very good job. I enjoy calling the games with him.”
Zimmerman joined the Razorback Foundation in 2020. The Razorback Foundation invests in more than 465 student athletes for scholarships, development and operations of the athletic department.
Zimmerman and Grovey co-host the Razorback Daily podcast. The podcast began in 2021, bringing 21 years of basketball coaching experience to the podcast.
“I just think the state of Arkansas makes Razorback sports so special,” Zimmerman said. “It is the people. Everywhere I have been you are always competing for attention of other teams. In Arkansas you have got pretty much the Razorbacks. It is such a big deal, and you have a united people that all want the Razorbacks to win. It is unique, and it is a very special state.”
In 2019 Eric Musselman was hired as the head coach for the Razorbacks.
“Muss inherited a pretty good situation from coach Anderson,” Zimmerman said. “Muss has been able to win to a higher degree. He is passionate about winning and right as he got here, some things changed in the NCAA landscape that really fit the way he does stuff. He loved taking transfers before there was a transfer portal. The portal fits him so well. Muss is a good basketball coach and a good evaluator of players.”
The Hogs welcomed back Nick Smith Jr. from injury in the Mississippi State game Feb. 11.
“With Nick back they are as good as anybody in the country,” Zimmerman said. “Of pure talent they might have the most in the country. There are not five more talented teams in the country. They are not going to be out prepared, worked or performed. If you are going to beat this Razorback basketball team, you are going to have to beat their butt on the court.”
Before the HSV Razorback Club event kicked off, Grovey and Zimmerman brought in the Liberty Bowl trophy for the club members to see and take pictures with. Arkansas won the Liberty Bowl 55-53 in triple overtime over Kansas.
“I love the Hot Springs area,” Zimmerman said. “I came down here a lot. My dad spent 22 years in the army and was stationed active duty in Hot Springs. At one time they had an army hospital and he was stationed there. He spent three years here.”
Zimmerman’s family frequented Oaklawn.
“When my dad was off on Tuesdays he would come to the racetrack,” Zimmerman said. “He is too old now to come, but we spent a lot of time at Oaklawn. My brother Ken has always been involved with things and loved Oaklawn.
“We have got some family ties here. We have some cousins and people that live right here, too. It is always nice to come to Hot Springs and see what is going on and see the people. There is a passion for Hot Springs and in Hot Springs Village. There is a lot of passion for the Razorbacks.”
Zimmerman and Grovey fielded questions for Pittman over a variety of topics including new coaches, the transfer portal and the Razorback football program.
“I had not been to Pittman’s house until today,” Zimmerman said. “Coach Pittman was with us today, and he had to speak at an event in Little Rock. He was very gracious to us and took us by his house. I have heard everything about the hog statue and seen pictures of it. It is so nice. I wish I had a boat on Lake Hamilton. It is so beautiful.”
The HSV Razorback Club experienced its biggest turnout ever, boosting new membership and Razorback Foundation membership with aspirations of helping Razorback athletic programs grow.
“It is a nice setting,” Zimmerman said. “This is not a fake deal, Pittman genuinely loves it here. He loves the Hot Springs area, and I think this is where he will end up spending the bulk of his time. We just want him to spend a lot of time in Fayetteville until he is done coaching. He loves it down here. Just when he is talking about the lake, boats, and his statue, he has a lot of pride in that.”