The Milwaukee Bucks have named Lisa Byington as the new TV presenter for the Bally Sports Wisconsin team, making her the first woman to handle the full-time TV playback of a major sports team. male professional.
Byington replaces Bucks longtime pitcher Jim Paschke, who retired after the 2020-21 season after serving as the team’s television announcer for the past 35 years. Bucks and Fiserv Forum chairman Peter Feigin announced the hiring of Byington on Wednesday.
In a statement, Byington said she was “absolutely delighted” with the opportunity “to work with a first-class franchise and a championship organization like the Milwaukee Bucks.”
“I know I’ll get into the role Jim Paschke held for a long time and I appreciate his passion for the team and the memorable moments when his voice will always be a part,” Byington said. “I would be disregarded if I didn’t recognize his work and his commitment to the franchise, and it’s an honor for me to be the one to take the baton. I’m particularly excited to work with such an amazing team of Mark Johnson, Zora Stephenson, Steve Novak and everyone who participates in the Bucks games at Bally Sports Wisconsin. “
.@LisaByington becomes the first female full-time gaming announcer of a major male professional sports team.
Welcome to Milwaukee, Lisa !! pic.twitter.com/HYZXUqshOa
– Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) September 15, 2021
Byington, who previously played in the Women’s World Cup game on FOX in 2019, became the first woman to call up NCAA men’s basketball tournament matches in March as part of CBS / Turner Sports coverage. He later stood behind the microphone for the men’s and women’s soccer games at the Tokyo Olympics for NBC Sports.
From 2017-2019, Byington worked as a secondary reporter for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on CBS and Turner, and also has experience summoning game-by-game from various NBA and WNBA games, among other tasks.
“We are very excited to welcome Lisa to the Bucks family and to bring to our broadcast team such a talented game-by-game announcer,” Feigin said in a statement. “Lisa’s extensive television career, including her high-level NCAA basketball game on several national networks, makes her the perfect choice to take on this important role. While we appreciate the importance of selecting “Lisa and we celebrate at this historic moment, Lisa won this position based on her extraordinary skills and experience. We hope Lisa becomes the voice of the Bucks.”