Legendary LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman, who guided the Tigers to five College World Series championships and transformed the program into one of the best in the sport’s history, died on Friday, August 14, the school announced.
He was 88.
Hired in the summer of 1983 to take over a middling program, Bertman took LSU to the CWS 11 times during his 18 seasons as head coach. Over a stretch of 10 seasons in Bertman’s tenure, the Tigers won five national titles — in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000. He’s one of only three coaches in college baseball history to win at least five CWS championships.
The Detroit native guided LSU to seven SEC championships and over the
course of his tenure, his teams went 870-330-3, giving him the highest winning percentage for a coach in SEC history. He was a six-time national coach of the year and in 2006, he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class.
He coached at LSU 41 players who went on to play at the major-league level and had three players who joined him as College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees — pitcher Ben McDonald, second baseman Todd Walker and first baseman Eddy Furniss. The success of his teams made the Tigers’ baseball team one of the top athletic attractions at the school. Since 1996, LSU has led the country in attendance 26 times, averaging 11,000 tickets sold per game during that time.
"By far the greatest part of being the baseball coach at LSU the last five years is the relationship I was able to build with the greatest college baseball coach of my lifetime, Skip Bertman,” current LSU baseball coach Jay Johnson said in a statement. “The mentorship, and most importantly, the friendship we built is easily one of the best, most rewarding, and special relationships I have ever had. What an honor it has been to sit with, talk baseball with, smile with, and laugh with Coach.
“Coach Bertman was so far ahead of his time while leading the LSU Tigers, and as a young coach just starting my journey, I watched, studied, and admired his incredible skills of leading, motivating, teaching, coaching, and ultimately cultivating what became 'The Powerhouse' of College Baseball. Being able to share the 2023 and 2025 National Championships with Coach Bertman watching is something I wouldn’t trade for the world. The impact he made and legacy he has left on the state of Louisiana and college baseball is beyond remarkable and will never be duplicated.”
In addition to his work in the college game, Bertman was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team that won a gold medal in 1988 and was the head coach for the American Olympic squad that finished with a bronze medal in 1996 in Atlanta.
In Jan. 2001, shortly before what would be his final season as the Tigers’ head baseball coach, he was named the LSU athletic director, a post he served in until 2008. In that role, he hired four coaches that went on to win national championships – Les Miles (football), Paul Mainieri (baseball), Chuck Winstead (men’s golf) and Dennis Shaver (men’s and women’s track & field).
Bertman arrived at LSU after eight years as an assistant at Miami, his alma mater, where the Hurricanes made five trips to the CWS and won the 1982 national championship.
“Few people have had a greater impact on LSU than Skip Bertman," LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry said in a statement. "As the greatest college baseball coach of all-time, and later as our Athletics Director, Skip developed a championship standard and culture that still guide us today. Personally, he was a dear friend, mentor and advisor, and I’m forever grateful for the trust and faith he placed in me to serve this institution. I will continue to honor Skip by leaning into the lessons he taught me every day. Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones at this time.”
Bertman is survived by his three daughters, Jan, Jodi and Lori, and four grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Sandy, who died in March 2025, and his daughter, Lisa Jo Pate. Skip and Sandy met in 1961 while both were working as teachers at Madie Ives Elementary School in Miami and were engaged three months later.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Legendary LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman dies at 88
