New Bucks TV announcer Byington hoping to 'open doors' for others

Lisa Byington - Full Interview

FOX6's Lily Zhao goes 1-on-1 with new Milwaukee Bucks TV announcer Lisa Byington.

MILWAUKEE - Lisa Byington made history Wednesday night as she was hired by the Bucks to become their TV play-by-play announcer.

The move made Byington the first woman to take over a full-time TV play-by-play job for a major men's professional sports team.

"The the best part of the last couple of days is just constantly being reminded of the the world class organization that I now get to call my team," said Byington. "This community of Milwaukee, I'm excited to meet the fans within the community. And when we're there at the games and it's just first class and this whole hiring process pursuing the job, it's just been so well done from top to bottom. And I am really excited to get this thing going."

Byington replaces Jim Paschke, who retired after 35 years with the organization.

She says she is excited to pick his brain.

"I hope to tap into him a little bit more," Byington said. "I certainly have watched many of his broadcasts and the fact that he was so loyal to this franchise for thirty five years, it is remarkable. He is the soundtrack for so many marvelous moments in franchise history. And I will certainly want to tap into him a little bit more."

Byington has a lengthy resume.

She has called games for the Women's World Cup, the NCAA Tournament, NBA and WNBA games, and she has worked for the Big Ten Network where she became the first woman to do play-by-play for a college football game in 2017.

She says her story is for everyone. Not just little girls and women.

"It's also a story for little boys, because I think boys and men are equally a part of this story as girls and women are," said Byington. "Because we all are in this together and we have to open up doors together and we have to be intentional about looking for opportunities for people who there might not be a whole lot of opportunities for. So it's not just a story about girls and women. It's also boys and men."

Prior to starting her broadcasting career, Byington played point guard at Northwestern.

She says she will be more than happy to rack up the assists from the booth.

"I was a pass first, shoot second point guard," Byington said. "I like to joke and so I'm looking for more assists and points in the broadcast and and I'm looking to set up Marques Johnson or Steve Novak or Zora Stephenson and make them look good."