By Matt Mueller Culture Editor Published Apr 04, 2024 at 6:56 PM

One of the most recognizable faces in Milwaukee sports media is a free agent, as longtime TMJ4 sports reporter and anchor Lance Allan is out at the station.

Allan broke the news himself with a video message posted Thursday evening on Twitter, announcing that he had been let go from TMJ4.

"It was an honor as a Wisconsin kid to cover the teams that I grew up with – Packers, Badgers, Brewers, Bucks, Marquette – and truly serve the community and be in the community, for the community. I'll still be in the community, so I am looking forward to that," Allan says, in the video. "Thank you very much. It was truly a dream come true, and I'm excited for what the future holds."

TMJ4 verified the news in an email statement to OnMilwaukee, saying: "We can confirm that we exercised an early out on Lance’s contract. We mutually agreed that he will stay on air through August. We value his contributions and service to this community."

The Rice Lake native has been a familiar face for Wisconsin sports fans and local news watchers for almost three decades, serving as a sports reporter and anchor at TMJ4 for 28 years. Prior to his tenure at TMJ4, Allan worked around the state at WFRV in Green Bay as well as WJFW in Rhinelander, where he got his start in television news working across multiple departments – sports, yes, but also weather and news. 

We wish the best to Allan and his family, and we'll certainly miss Allan's veteran, authoritative voice in our sports broadcasts when he leaves TMJ4 after August. The story of Wisconsin sports over the past 30 years wouldn't be the same without him helping tell it. And while Allan's future plans have yet to be confirmed or announced, we know one thing for sure: No matter what they are, we'll be tuned in. 

Matt Mueller Culture Editor

As much as it is a gigantic cliché to say that one has always had a passion for film, Matt Mueller has always had a passion for film. Whether it was bringing in the latest movie reviews for his first grade show-and-tell or writing film reviews for the St. Norbert College Times as a high school student, Matt is way too obsessed with movies for his own good.

When he's not writing about the latest blockbuster or talking much too glowingly about "Piranha 3D," Matt can probably be found watching literally any sport (minus cricket) or working at - get this - a local movie theater. Or watching a movie. Yeah, he's probably watching a movie.