University of New Hampshire Athletics
McIsaac, Lessels Garner N.H. Sportscaster, Sportswriter of Year Honors
1/28/2024 1:54:00 PM | Football, General, Men's Basketball
McIsaac Honored for Third Time & Lessels Takes Home State-Record 13th Award
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Justin McIsaac, the radio voice of UNH football and men's basketball, and Allen Lessels, the UNH Insider, were named New Hampshire's 2023 Sportscaster of the Year and Sportswriter of the Year, respectively, by the National Sports Media Association.
McIsaac and Lessels will be honored with all state winners, national recipients and Hall of Fame inductees at the 64th NSMA awards and weekend national convention this summer in North Carolina.
McIssac, now a three-time N.H. Sportscaster of the Year, became the football play-by-play broadcaster on the Wildcat Sports Network this past season following six years (2017-22) as color commentator. He debuted in the lead role on men's basketball broadcasts in December. The Rochester, N.H., native is the assistant program director for WGIR (610-AM, Manchester) and WQSO (96.7 FM, Portsmouth) and serves as the producer of New Hampshire Today (6 a.m. – 9 a.m., Monday-Friday) on News Radio 610 AM and 96.7 FM.
Lessels garnered the NSMA New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year award for a state-record 13th time. The Concord, N.H., native joined the UNH athletic communications team as its first-ever in-house staff writer in August 2014, where he provided content for UNHWildcats.com via his UNH Insider blog and @UNHInsider X account. The veteran sportswriter also writes feature stories on past and present student-athletes and works on special projects for the University.
Sportscasters Joe Buck and Andrea Kremer, and sportswriter Jayson Stark have been voted into the National Sports Media Association's Hall of Fame. They'll be joined by posthumous selections Tim McCarver and Roger Kahn. Kevin Harlan of CBS, Westwood One, and Turner was voted the 2023 National Sportscaster of the Year, while ESPN's Jeff Passan was voted the 2023 National Sportswriter of the Year.
About the National Sports Media Association
The National Sports Media Association honors, preserves, and celebrates the diverse legacy of sports media in the United States. Founded in 1959 as the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in Salisbury, N.C., the NSSA added its Hall of Fame in 1962, with Grantland Rice as its first member. The organization rebranded to the National Sports Media Association in 2016 and moved to Winston-Salem, N.C. one year later.
Justin McIsaac New Hampshire Sportscaster of the Year Awards
2023
2019
2018
Allen Lessels New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year Awards
2023
2017
2013
2012
2009
2007
2006
2005
2004
1998
1994
1993
1992
McIsaac and Lessels will be honored with all state winners, national recipients and Hall of Fame inductees at the 64th NSMA awards and weekend national convention this summer in North Carolina.
McIssac, now a three-time N.H. Sportscaster of the Year, became the football play-by-play broadcaster on the Wildcat Sports Network this past season following six years (2017-22) as color commentator. He debuted in the lead role on men's basketball broadcasts in December. The Rochester, N.H., native is the assistant program director for WGIR (610-AM, Manchester) and WQSO (96.7 FM, Portsmouth) and serves as the producer of New Hampshire Today (6 a.m. – 9 a.m., Monday-Friday) on News Radio 610 AM and 96.7 FM.
Lessels garnered the NSMA New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year award for a state-record 13th time. The Concord, N.H., native joined the UNH athletic communications team as its first-ever in-house staff writer in August 2014, where he provided content for UNHWildcats.com via his UNH Insider blog and @UNHInsider X account. The veteran sportswriter also writes feature stories on past and present student-athletes and works on special projects for the University.
Sportscasters Joe Buck and Andrea Kremer, and sportswriter Jayson Stark have been voted into the National Sports Media Association's Hall of Fame. They'll be joined by posthumous selections Tim McCarver and Roger Kahn. Kevin Harlan of CBS, Westwood One, and Turner was voted the 2023 National Sportscaster of the Year, while ESPN's Jeff Passan was voted the 2023 National Sportswriter of the Year.
About the National Sports Media Association
The National Sports Media Association honors, preserves, and celebrates the diverse legacy of sports media in the United States. Founded in 1959 as the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in Salisbury, N.C., the NSSA added its Hall of Fame in 1962, with Grantland Rice as its first member. The organization rebranded to the National Sports Media Association in 2016 and moved to Winston-Salem, N.C. one year later.
Justin McIsaac New Hampshire Sportscaster of the Year Awards
2023
2019
2018
Allen Lessels New Hampshire Sportswriter of the Year Awards
2023
2017
2013
2012
2009
2007
2006
2005
2004
1998
1994
1993
1992
Thursday, May 28
Thursday, May 14
Wednesday, May 06
Tuesday, May 05