She also has been a play-by-play broadcaster on NBA and WNBA games. Golden State's star sharpshooter enjoys another historic moment, which also set his playoff career high. Lindley told me the NFL started this method last year in the playoffs, and is now doing it during the regular season. From being an athlete during her time in college to being a sportscaster, Lisa has always put fitness as one of the most important parts of her life. "@type": "Answer", She graduated with a communication degree from UC Berkeley in 2005. The same month saw the Sacramento Kings and NBC Sports California employ a TV crew composed entirely of women and nonbinary on-air personalities, including Krista Blunk on play-by-play, for a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Because its time., I am honored, humbled, and beyond excited for this opportunity and to get this started! NBA.com is part of Warner Media, LLCs Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network, *Translations are limited to select pages. her call of Oral Roberts second-round upset over Florida. But ultimately, I dont think of myself as a female broadcaster. He gave me a fist-bump and said, Hey, anything you need? Kenny Albert, Brian Anderson, Mark Jones, so many national voices have reached out and said were excited to have you here.. 2) Do the Quarterback Shuffle: . She hails from Michigan and currently stays in Chicago. You will see Vandy and Cal on the schedule in the next two years. What an athlete. The sportscaster also did commentary on a few select FIFA Womens World Cup matches in the summer of 2019. In fact, the noes completely outweigh and outnumber the yeses that Ive gotten. Byington Gets Her Shining Moment Calling NCAA Tournament And if there are fans who have concerns and dont quite get it, I can listen. But this isn't her "first." Recruiting services had him looking at Alabama, OSU, Notre Dame, and Stanford. Byington joined the Milwaukee Bucks as a full-time play-by-play announcer in 2021. Byington became the first woman to call NCAA mens basketball tournament game during March 2021. Lisas extensive television broadcasting background, including her play-by-play work for high-level NCAA basketball on several national networks, makes her the perfect choice to take on this major role.. If you do that, I think you will be happy with the results. So it has to start in a place that people care about and pay attention to. She was a part of FOX Sports and has appeared on various programs for the network over the years. We had a chance to meet with Mark and his teammate, Damien Proby on Friday. Lisa Byington has just more than 6.7K followers on her. Theyre not happy to have me here because Im a woman, but because every single one of them has told me we saw your audition and you were the best.. Female First Hopes Its Not Such a Big Deal Soon, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/14/sports/basketball/lisa-byington-bucks.html, Lisa Byington, who is the first woman to be a full-time play-by-play announcer in the N.B.A., said her parents made me feel like I could do anything in the world.. Find related and similar companies as well as employees by title and much more. Theres more eyeballs, and, granted, the stakes are higher. She did mens and womens soccer. 329 - Lisa Byington Moreover, Lisa has a beautiful pair of blue eyes while she has blonde color hair. From Portage Northern, to Northwestern University, to the smallest of TV markets in the United States to the sidelines of the most recognized sports networks in the world, Lisa Byington has blazed trails all over the Midwest and beyond. Turns out, a lot. When Byington opted not to pick up, Cohen resorted to sending a text message that featured a GIF of Antetokounmpo. From 2017 to 2019, Byington worked as a sideline reporter for the NCAA men's basketball tournament on CBS and Turner, and she also has experience calling the play-by-play for various NBA and WNBA . One person to believe in you. See you in Ann Arbor this Saturday leaving my shoelaces at home. It was unusual because Byington had never done play-by-play. Then, for her professional career, she chose to go into sports broadcasting. And volleyball. We wanted to tell you first ourselves that we would love for you to be the next voice of the Philadelphia 76ers,' she recalled. We want you here, Scott said. At the time, WBKB was the second-smallest television market in the country, as mentioned by her. Over the last decade, a majority of her work has been done at Fox Sports and the Big Ten Network. Impressive. It can be very lonely here, so its really wonderful to have somebody who understands, Scott said. ", "Northwestern Women's Soccer 2018 Record Book & Almanac", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lisa_Byington&oldid=1150305664, College basketball announcers in the United States, Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball players, Women's college basketball announcers in the United States, Women's National Basketball Association announcers, National Basketball Association broadcasters, Northwestern Wildcats women's soccer players, Short description is different from Wikidata, BLP articles lacking sources from July 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 17 April 2023, at 11:22. She received two degrees at Northwestern a bachelors with a print journalism concentration and a masters with a broadcast concentration. But if youre asking me the same questions 10 years from now or even next month then theres a problem.. Facebook page, but her likes and followers are hidden. In 2017, Byington became the first female play-by-play to call a college football game for the Big Ten Network. In addition to this, Lisa is also active on Snapchat. . https://t.co/02CpAHcEQb. From my days of playing sports, Ive learned that failure is just a part of it you need to be resilient and if you dont succeed, try to learn something from that, Scott said. This trio became what is believed to be the first all-female commentary broadcast in the history of any of the five major mens professional leagues in the U.S. They leave these parting words of advice for any young women who dream of working in sports broadcasting one day. 2023 ABG-SI LLC. For this series, Julia Adams spoke to women from various positions around the league from play-by-play broadcasters, to analysts, to producers in order to capture how the NBA is supporting women to enter roles on a league-wide basis. Eventually, Byington would move onto Northwestern University where she lettered in basketball four years - and was a three-time All-Big Ten Academic selection - and two as a soccer walk-on. They said usually we call your agent and let them break the news, but you had such an impact on us and you knocked your audition out of the park. In the winter sometimes [in Michigan] when it was too cold or my parents hadnt shoveled the driveway, I would blow up a balloon and have that be my basketball, Byington said. 16 seed Hartford. One person to open that door and give you that opportunity.. Byington added that pursuing a career in the industry means dealing with rejection often. She became the first female play-by-play broadcaster for a Big Ten Network college football game in 2017. One, Lisa is very protective of her personal life and does not want anyone to know about her significant other. In 2019, she was part of the first all-woman crew to call an MLS game, believed to be the first all-woman broadcast of any of the five major mens professional leagues. Along with these, Lisa has also filled in the role of the play-by-play broadcaster for the NBAs Chicago Bulls, WNBAs Chicago Sky, and NWSLs Chicago Red Stars. [9] Both teams made the NCAA Tournament. Ponderosa - Overview, News & Competitors | ZoomInfo.com She boasts around 17.4K followers on Twitter, the highest among her social media accounts, where she usually posts sports-related stuff. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. It starts with people allowing women, minorities, the opportunities that havent always been there, and the NBA has had an incredible trickle-down effect, she says. Who knows, maybe one day you can find yourself calling games for the Philadelphia 76ers.. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Ive known in my bones since the first time I called a game that this is what I wanted to do so thats what Ive told myself in those dark times.. She began working as a March Madness reporter with CBS and Turner Sports in 2017, covering the 2019 mens Final Four from the sideline in the networks virtual reality broadcast. Both Scott and Byington were drawn to sports from a young age and their experience playing sports helped influence an interest in pursuing a broadcasting career. She was a basketball player herself, and with. Byington added that pursuing a career in the industry means dealing with rejection often. Beginning this October, she will take another historic step for women in sportscasting. Byington replaces Jim Paschke . When he retired last season in the wake of the teams first championship since 1971, he was replaced by Byington, 45, who made history as the first female full-time play-by-play broadcaster for a major mens professional sports team. On the field. Byington was new to the Big3, but there she was, live from the Bahamas, working an hourlong pregame show followed by both semifinals. There are going to be a lot of moments where youre gonna doubt yourself and wonder if this is what you really want to do listen to your heart and your gut and if the answer is yes, keep going. Prior to joining the Bucks in September 2021, she was working for NBA Sports as a play-by-play announcer for both men's and women's soccer during the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Northwestern News and Notes. Lisa started her broadcasting career with WBKB-TV in Alpena, Michigan. The stands were still empty, and a couple of ushers did double-takes: Was she the new announcer? Byington spent 12 years in local news covering events such as the Brown Trout Festival and Alpena Community College Lumberjack Games, in Alpena, Mich. One of Scotts first jobs out of college was reporting on sports and traffic for a variety of Bay Area radio stations. Dont let those noes discourage you. Ja Morant powers Memphis onto the list, while Klay Thompson's return recharges Golden State. Its great that were celebrating these moments now rather than celebrate it when were all retired or passed, so its great in that sense because we can enjoy it and we can see what people have to say, we can see the young generation that we may be inspiring, McPeak, who calls games for the Washington Mystics and the Capital City Go-Go of the NBAs G League, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in April. Dont let other people, dont let society, and dont even let your bosses tell you what youre capable of, Byington said.