Matthew Zimmerman

Matthew Zimmerman is an Assistant Professor of Sport Media Analytics in the Virginia Tech School of Communication. Prior to arriving in Blacksburg, he spent eight years at Mississippi State University teaching Sport Administration in the Department of Kinesiology. He also was an Assistant Professor of Public Relations for two years at Auburn University, and an Instructor of Sport Administration/Management for two years at Ball State University.

Before entering academia, Zimmerman spent more than five years in his native Southern California working for two daily newspapers, the South Bay Daily Breeze and the Long Beach Press-Telegram. While there, he covered sports ranging from high school badminton to international soccer. He left Long Beach to earn a master’s degree in Convergence Journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, where he also was a Summer 2008 Carnegie Fellow with the ABC News Investigative Unit in New York City.

Subsequently, Zimmerman returned to his undergraduate alma mater, Indiana University, to earn a Ph.D. in Human Performance with an emphasis in Sport Management. He has also been the lead author on a Sports Journalism textbook.

Zimmerman’s research interests include the use of new and social media to facilitate conversations in sport. This includes fan interactions with organizations and other fans, as well as organizational attempts to engage their target publics. In addition, he examines Journalists’ experiences and the use of advertising and realistic portrayal in sports video games.