Lisa Byington

Lisa Byington is in for her fourth season as the television play-by-play voice for the Bucks. The first female full-time television play-by-play announcer for a major men’s professional sports team, Byington was hired by the team in September 2021 after serving in both play-by-play and reporter roles for basketball, football and soccer telecasts on FOX Sports, FS1, Big Ten Network, CBS, Turner Sports, Pac-12 Network, ESPN and the SEC Network over the past decade.

A trailblazer in the industry, Byington, in March 2021, became the first female play-by-play voice to work the NCAA men’s basketball tournament as she called First Round games for CBS and Turner Sports. She returned to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament in 2022, 2023 and 2024, calling the first and second rounds for CBS and Turner Sports. She also served as the play-by-play announcer for the WNBA’s Chicago Sky from 2021-24. Byington worked the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo for NBC Sports as a men’s and women’s soccer play-by-play announcer and also did play-by-play for the Women’s World Cup on FOX in 2019. From 2017-19, Byington worked as a sideline reporter for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on CBS and Turner Sports. 

In 2017, Byington became the first female play-by-play voice for a college football game on the Big Ten Network and shortly after was part of an MLS game broadcast that was believed to be the first all-female broadcast of any of the five major men’s professional leagues. The Big Ten Network created the Lisa Byington Award in 2022, which is presented annually to the most outstanding female broadcaster in the Big Ten Network StudentU program.

A basketball and soccer player at Northwestern University, Byington, a Portage, Michigan native, began her broadcasting career with two local television stations in Michigan before moving to FOX Sports and the Big Ten Network.

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About the Axthelm Memorial Program

The Pete and Bonnie Axthelm Memorial Program was established in 1994 at Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) to acknowledge and recognize the life of Pete Axthelm and his sister Bonnie. Every year this program awards a scholarship to an outstanding Marquette journalism student with an expressed interest in sports journalism.

Pete Axthelm was one of America's foremost sports journalists. Although a Yale alum, he created ties to Marquette University while working on his critically acclaimed book, "The City Game," which covers the glory and tragedy of New York basketball. While writing and researching his book, Axthelm sought the expertise of such Marquette notables as Al McGuire, Pat Smith, and Dean Meminger.

During his distinguished career as a sportswriter and columnist for the New York Herald Tribune, Sports Illustrated and Newsweek, Pete established a reputation as a gifted journalist. His knowledge of sports combined with his journalistic skills led him to sports commentator positions for NBC and ESPN.

Bonnie Axthelm was among the highest ranking women at 3M Europe during her lifetime. She began her notable career as a secretary at Media Networks Incorporated, eventually rising through the company to hold the top position of Executive Director of Corporate Marketing and Public Affairs. Bonnie’s name was added to the memorial scholarship in after her death in 1998.

Past Axthelm Scholarship Recipients
Past Axthelm Lecture Speakers
Selected Works by Pete Axthelm