Alumni and Friends Making an Impact

By Jacob Mantle '23

Twenty-three years ago, large monitor carts were rolled down UD Arena’s ramp to allow media real-time stats access. Joe Pott ’00 was one of the media members as he called his last men’s basketball game for Flyer Radio.

Today, tablets are used for stats, and Pott returned to UD Arena to call a Dayton Flyers basketball game — this time for the opposing team as Southern Illinois University Edwardsville played the Flyers Nov. 6.

The St. Louis native is the director of sports information and broadcasting for the SIUE Cougars and a part-time radio host on KMOX, home of the St. Louis Cardinals.

UD was an impetus for Pott.

“It set up so many things for me after UD, including where I met my wife,” he shared. 

Originally a business major, Pott started a sports radio show his first year at UD once he learned Flyer Radio was open to all majors. This led to a career-changing moment when an opportunity arose to call play-by-play for the Dayton Bombers, a minor league hockey team that played at the Nutter Center.

“As soon as I called my first game, I realized this was it,” Pott said. “This is what I need to be doing, and I changed my major to communication.”

Pott’s involvement on campus was not limited to just his Flyer Radio sports show. He also called volleyball and soccer, worked in athletic communications with Doug Hauschild ’81, and with Larry Hangsen at WHIO for weekend morning shows.

While at UD he learned to always take care of your visitors, which he has applied in his broadcasting career. Pott began his career with the Gateway Grizzlies, an independent baseball team, and won three Frontier League Broadcaster of the Year awards for his outstanding broadcasting before starting work for SIUE athletics in 2008.

Pott is enthusiastic about his work in collegiate sports and even helped SIUE transition from Division II to Division I. But spotlighting student-athletes has always been his passion. 

“Being able to tell the stories of what our student-athletes do and what kind of success they have on and off the field is so rewarding,” Pott said. “I got to be a part of a lot of firsts at SIUE, and that's pretty gratifying, as well.”

Despite SIUE losing to the Flyers 63-47, Pott enjoyed his homecoming.

“It was amazing. In fact, I was a little emotional when Dayton came on the floor and the crowd went crazy,” the Flyer alum stated. “It was very special for me.”