Emory University head men's basketball coach Jason Zimmerman has been recognized by the Atlanta Tipoff Club for the Eagles' outstanding season as the recipient of the organization's  Whack Hyder College Coach of the Year for the state of Georgia.  Zimmerman will receive his honor at the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Naismith Awards Banquet on Sunday, March 13, at the College Football Hall of Fame in downtown Atlanta.

It is the second time during Zimmerman's nine-year tenure with Emory that he has been selected for the honor.  He captured his first Whack Hyder Coach of the Year award following the 2012-13 season.  He ranks as Emory's all-time winningest coach with a record of 150-83, and is the only Division III men's coach to be chosen for the award in its 34-year history.  

Under Zimmerman's direction, Emory finished the regular season with an overall record of 18-7 and won the program's second straight outright University Athletic Association title (third in the past four seasons) with a ledger of 11-3, tying the program's second-highest win total in league contests. The Eagles will be appearing in the NCAA Division III Tournament for the fourth straight year when it hosts Covenant College in a first-round game on Friday evening (Mar. 4).

The Eagles' win total represents their seventh consecutive winning season, the longest streak in school history.

Earlier this week, he was recognized by his conference peers and tabbed as the UAA Coach of the Year for the fourth time.  Zimmerman saw two of his players, senior Will Trawick and sophomore Adam Gigax earn 2015-16 First Team All-UAA honors while senior Davis Rao was a second-team honoree.

Zimmerman was chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club board of selectors who determine winners based on on-court performances this season.

"I am honored to be chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to receive this award," Zimmerman said.  "The Tipoff Club over the years has been a great ambassador for the game of basketball and to be recognized by this organization is certainly a humbling experience.

"As with all individual accolades in our sport, this award represents the culmination of the hard work of many student athletes and staff members at Emory over the past nine years."

Joni Taylor of the University of Georgia was tabbed as the state's Women's College Coach of the Year.  J.J. Frazier of the University of Georgia was selected as the Men's College Player of the Year while Georgia Tech's Aaliyah Whiteside was chosen as the Women's Player of the Year.

Awarded since 1984, past winners include Hugh Durham of Georgia, Bobby Cremins of Georgia Tech, Frank Kerns of Georgia Southern, "Lefty" Driesell of Georgia State, Mark Fox of Georgia and Ron Hunter of Georgia State.  Zimmerman is the sixth coach who has won the Whack Hyder on multiple occasions.

John "Whack" Hyder served as the head coach at Georgia Tech for 22 seasons (1951-52 through 1972-73), compiling 292 wins.  His tenure was highlighted by Georgia Tech's first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1960 as well as two trips to the National Invitation Tournament.