If you attend a women’s basketball game at Charles Koch Arena, there’s a good chance you’ll hear the voice of Scot Pierce. 

Pierce has been a public address (PA) announcer for Wichita State women’s basketball and softball for four seasons. In addition, he said he sometimes fills in for volleyball, men’s basketball and baseball. 

Pierce didn’t intend to become a PA announcer. He attended both Wichita State and Friends University and then became a paramedic. Later, he worked as a pharmaceutical sales representative and a public speaker. 

Pierce said when he joined an alumni committee, dealing with a lack of booster support at Friends University in 2012, he realized that the announcer may have been the problem. So, he decided to step up.

“The public address was horrible,” Pierce said. “So, I approached the athletic director and said, ‘Hey, we need to do something about this.’”

When the director questioned his lack of experience, Pierce said he responded, “I’m dumb enough to believe I can do anything and smart enough to try it once.”

After the death of Don Hall, WSU’s former men’s and women’s basketball announcer in 2020, Hall was replaced by Ted Woodard on the men’s front, leaving an open position for the women’s games. Pierce auditioned and got the job. He now announces for both universities. 

When he got his first PA job at Friends, Pierce emailed NCAA Division I announcers in the area for advice. 

“I built on that experience ever since,” Pierce said.

He said after four seasons, he still looks to other PAs to improve his own announcing. 

“I’m a lifelong learner,” Pierce said. “And when you go to other venues, and you hear other announcers, you find yourself not only watching the game but watching everything and listening to everything.”

Pierce said it can be difficult to pronounce player’s names sometimes, but he sees it as an important part of his job.

“By the end of the season, you feel like the university owes you a minor in foreign language because some of the names are near impossible,” he said. “But the challenge is great when you can say it correctly, and you see that player look over to you and smile; it’s worth a million dollars.”

Another challenge the job entails is trying to remain neutral despite being a passionate fan of the teams he announces for.

“Every now and then, a call doesn’t go your way, or a player on another team makes an incredible play,” he said. “And you just have to deliver the same kind of energy, even for the opposing team, as you do our home team.”

Pierce said his favorite thing about his job is the energy on game day. 

“The vibe and the energy in Koch Arena is unparalleled to any other venue in the United States of America, and I just feel so privileged to be a part of it,” he said.