Don Zimmerman

Donald Zimmerman (born 1953) is an American television analyst and former college lacrosse coach. He became a color analyst for ESPN in May 2016 and does both high school and college lacrosse games. Prior to becoming an analyst, he served as the head coach for the UMBC Retrievers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County for 24 years. Between 1984 and 1987, Zimmerman coached Johns Hopkins to three national championships. Zimmerman was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2017.

Early life Zimmerman attended St. Paul's School in Brooklandville, Maryland. While there, the lacrosse team on which he played won three Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) championships. His senior year, he received honorable mention All-American honors and the Turnbull-Reynold Award for leadership and sportsmanship. He graduated in 1976.

Coaching career

Early coaching positions After graduating, Zimmerman remained at Hopkins for a season to coach the lacrosse program's B squad in 1977. He spent the following season as an assistant coach at Princeton University. From 1979 to 1982, he served as an assistant under Willie Scroggs at the University of North Carolina. While there, the Tar Heels won the national championship in 1981 and 1982. In total, Zimmerman's teams at Johns Hopkins posted a 73–15 record. Zimmerman was the United States men's national lacrosse team's assistant coach for the 1986 World Lacrosse Championship.

In 2008, UMBC again faced Albany in the America East championship game. Halfway through the second period, the Retrievers trailed 11–2, but rallied to edge their opponents, 14–13. Zimmerman was named the 2008 America East Coach of the Year. In June, he was considered the frontrunner to replace John Haus who had been fired as North Carolina's head coach, but Zimmerman removed his name from consideration. He said, "The people at UMBC have been good to me, and this is my home ... these are my kids and I recruited them. I just didn't think this was the right time to move."

In 2009, UMBC captured its fifth consecutive outright or shared America East regular season title. In the conference semifinals, the Retrievers edged Binghamton, 9–8. In the final, however, UMBC jumped out to an early lead over Albany and never relinquished it, and won, 15–7. Zimmerman was named the 2009 America East Coach of the Year.

While coach at UMBC, Zimmerman has traveled to Japan, Argentina, and the United Kingdom in order to promote the sport of lacrosse.

Personal life Zimmerman lives in Towson, Maryland with his wife, Dorothy. They have two adult children, a son and a daughter.

Head coaching record