Taking The Lead | Cindy Potter | CSC Voices, Beyond the Scoreboard

CSC Voices, Beyond the Scoreboard host: Trip Durham, 2D Consulting, LLC

Guest: Cindy Potter, Columbia College (Mo.) Director of Athletics/CSC Hall of Fame Class of 2025/former CSC (CoSIDA) President

In this podcast with host Trip Durham, Cindy Potter talks about her unexpected evolution from college student-athlete to her current role as Director of Athletics for her NAIA institution, Columbia College. She is the most honored and decorated sports communications professional in NAIA history.

Potter is in her 23rd year at her alma mater, serving in a variety of communications and administrative leadership roles. Formerly the Associate Director of Athletics and Director of Media Relations and Compliance, Potter was promoted to Senior Deputy Director of Athletics in 2020, and then was elevated to the Director of Athletics role.

In June during ceremonies at the CSC UNITE25 national convention, Potter will be enshrined in the CSC Hall of Fame. 

Previously, she earned organization's Rising Star Award (College Division) in 2008, the 2020 Warren Berg Award for outstanding communications service and leadership, and received the 2022 Bud Nagle Award for displaying ethics, integrity, compassion and/or bravery under an unusual or stressful personal or professional situations.

There are many “firsts” for Potter in her professional college athletics journey. When appointed to the CSC (then CoSIDA) national board of directors in 2011 to serve a three-year term, she was the first NAIA member to serve in that capacity. In 2018, Cindy was selected to the organization’s officer rotation, and served as President in 2021-22. This made her both the first ever NAIA member to serve as CoSIDA President and the first female not from an NCAA Division I institution to take the role.   

Her college athletic journey started as a Cougar softball team standout, where she was a team captain and earned NAIA Scholar Athlete, All-Conference, All-Region and National Tournament All-Tournament Team honors. In the fall of 2012 she was inducted into the Columbia College Athletic Hall of Fame for her softball contributions as a player. 

Learn about Cindy’s sports communications roots, her insights on how to distinguish yourself as a college athletics professional, and her leadership in both the NAIA and CSC. This conversation includes:

• the lessons learned and insights from being a college student-athlete (three-sport athlete at Three Rivers CC before starring in softball at Columbia College)
• why she has stayed at Columbia College since arriving as a student-athlete in 2005 and the importance of “roots”
• her original career goals and if she had aspired to become a college director 
• learning to adapt to different team dynamics
• keys to building relationships
• importance of prioritizing time management
• insights on valuing the sports communicators on campus, especially the role and value that a NAIA communicator brings to their jobs today (and the challenges faced) 
• the accomplishments she is most proud of
• in the “get to know Cindy Potter” department she was asked about being a native Canadian and celebrating both country’s Thanksgivings, what would be her “walk-up song” and, her passion for all things Disney.