Skip Bertman dies at 88: LSU baseball legend and five-time national champion passes away

Stanley “Skip” Bertman, the man who turned LSU baseball into a national powerhouse and later guided the entire athletics department, has passed away at age 88 after a short hospital stay for heart-related problems.

The Miami native arrived in Baton Rouge in 1984 and found a program that barely registered on the national map. By the time he stepped away from coaching in 2001, the Tigers had claimed five College World Series titles and become the standard for excellence in the Southeastern Conference.

Building a championship machine

Skip Bertman led LSU to national championships in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000. His teams also captured seven SEC titles and made 11 trips to Omaha. Over 18 seasons the Tigers posted an 870-330-3 record, a .724 winning percentage. In NCAA Tournament play his clubs went 89-29, the highest winning percentage in tournament history at the time.

He was named National Coach of the Year six times. In championship games during the NCAA postseason his record stood at a remarkable 20-1, including a perfect 5-0 mark in College World Series finals. Forty-one of his players reached the major leagues, and three, Ben McDonald, Todd Walker and Eddy Furniss, entered the College Baseball Hall of Fame.

Bertman also coached the 1996 US Olympic team to a bronze medal in Atlanta after compiling a 71-11 record across the 1995 and 1996 summers.

Impact that reached far beyond campus

Local kids grew up watching Skip Bertman’s Tigers and attending his summer camps. That exposure helped spark the travel-ball culture that now thrives across South Louisiana. His promotional ideas, first honed as an assistant under Ron Fraser at Miami, turned packed stadiums into a regular sight and made college baseball a profitable product in the South.

After leaving the dugout, Bertman became LSU’s athletic director in July 2001. He stayed in the role until 2008. Under his watch, the department added modern facilities, including the new Alex Box Stadium, whose field now carries his name, along with upgrades for football and softball. He hired coaches who later delivered national titles in football, baseball, golf and track and field.

The 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons produced some of the strongest all-around results in school history, with multiple teams finishing in the national top 25.

A lasting legacy

Skip Bertman’s successors kept the winning habit alive. Paul Mainieri added a title in 2009 and Jay Johnson claimed championships in 2023 and 2025. Bertman was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

He is preceded in death by his wife Sandy and daughter Lisa. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.