"The Voice of the Buffs," Larry Zimmer returning for one final season

It’s been one heck of a year for Larry Zimmer.

“As most of you know, I’ve gone through a pretty bad bout,” he said to a group of media following the Casotti Classic Golf Tournament. “I was in the hospital beginning on October 4th, I went into a rehab center right before Christmas, and I came home on February 20th. I’m still doing rehab.”

But despite all that, “Zim,” as he is affectionately called by his peers, has found a way to get himself back into the booth.

“With the help of my doctors and my therapists, I can announce today, that I do plan to be back for my 42nd year of CU football.”

This calls for a celebration, there was a time when we weren’t sure If Larry Zimmer would even be with us for this football season, now CU fans, and college football fans as a whole get the pleasure of hearing a true legend once again.

But this new beginning will also be the beginning of the end for Zimmer’s career.

“The second part of my announcement, the stars have all sort of aligned this year, I sort of had it in the back of my mind anyway, and my health has a little bit to do with it, but this will be my last year.”

“It will be my 50th consecutive year broadcasting division-one football,” he added proudly. “I started at Michigan back in 1966, I had three years at CSU, and 42 at Colorado, I also will be 80 years old, so I think it’s time.”

All good things must come to an end, but the fact that Zimmer could go out on his own terms was important to him, and CU fans helped him achieve this goal.

“One of the reasons it was a tremendous goal for me to be back in the booth this year… was the great support that I had, from CU, from KOA, from friends, and from the fans. Bridgett would bring to me in the hospital, stacks of cards and people saying they cant wait to hear me back in the booth. That was something that drove me to want to get back on the air, at least for one more year.”

“If people would take the time to write me and say, ‘we hope you get better because we want to hear you in the booth,’” he added. “I felt like I really owed it to them to work hard and get back.”

In all reality, Larry Zimmer doesn’t owe anyone a thing, but anyone who has ever listened to a Colorado Football radio broadcast will take it gladly.

So take it in this year when Larry Zimmer calls the Colorado football home games, even if it means you have to be that guy with his earphones in at the game. Legends like Zimmer don’t come around often, and there likely won’t ever be another one like him.