Play-by-Play Voice and Sideline Reporter

Lisa Byington is a trailblazer in the broadcasting world. She became the first female to be named a full-time play-by-play announcer for an NBA team: the Milwaukee Bucks. The past two years, Lisa has worked as a play-by-play announcer for Turner and CBS for the men’s NCAA basketball tournament covering key matchups.

Lisa serves as a role model for female broadcasters and is passionate about growing women’s involvement across the industry. In 2021, the Big Ten Network honored Lisa by creating an award in her honor. The Lisa Byington Award is presented annually to the most outstanding female broadcaster in the Big Ten Network StudentU program. The winner receives an immersive experience in Chicago where she will have the opportunity to work with Big Ten Network producers, announcers, and consultants to record segments at Big Ten Network’s studios and work on a demo reel. Additionally in 2022, Byington won this year’s Chicago/Midwest Emmy for On-Camera Talent—Sports Analyst/Sports Play-by-Play.

In 2017, Lisa made history as the first female play-by-play voice for a college football game for the Big Ten Network. Shortly after that, she was a part of an MLS airing that was the first all-female broadcast of any of the five major men’s professional leagues. In the last two years, she has filled in as a play-by-play for select Chicago Bulls television broadcasts, becoming one of the first females to do play-by-play on the NBA Circuit.

Lisa worked the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo as a men’s and women’s soccer play-by-play. In 2019, she made her play-by-play Women’s World Cup debut for Fox. From 2017-2019, Lisa worked as a basketball sideline reporter for the men’s NCAA Tournament for CBS and Turner Sports.

Lisa began her broadcasting career with WBKB-TV in Alpena, Mich., which at the time was the second-smallest market in the country. Her next move was to Big Ten country and WLNS-TV in Lansing, Mich. She first appeared on the Big Ten Network during the network’s opening football weekend in 2007, and she has been a part of the FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network lineup for more than a decade in a variety of roles.

A two-sport athlete at Northwestern, Byington played soccer and basketball, helping her teams advance to the NCAA Tournaments in both sports, and earning Academic All-Big Ten recognition.