LSU and the City of Baton Rouge lost a legend on Friday.
Skip Bertman, head coach of five Tiger national championship baseball teams and former LSU Athletics Director, died. He was 88 years old.
“Coach Bertman passed away at 1:30 this morning,” LSU Athletic Director Verge Ausberry said. “His daughters were by his side. Slept away peacefully.”
Bertman arrived at Baton Rouge in 1984 and turned a downtrodden program into the standard of college baseball. He took the Tigers to the College World Series 11 times, winning the five and maintaining a perfect record in championship games. Twice his Tigers won in walk-off fashion. Warren Morris’s two-run home run to beat Miami in 1996 and Brad Cresse’s title-clinching single in 2000.
LSU won the SEC seven times under Bertman’s watch. His legendary speeches, acumen of the game and natural charisma made him a giant in Baton Rouge and the college baseball world. LSU led the country in attendance in his final six seasons and has now done so 26 times since 1996.
The street where old Alex Box Stadium was nestled bears his name as does the field at Alex Box Stadium.
After 18 seasons at the helm of the baseball program, Bertman transitioned to the role of Athletic Director where he served LSU from 2001 to 2008. He hired three national championship coaches–Nick Saban, Les Miles and Paul Mainieri– during that time. LSU’s women’s basketball team also reached five consecutive Final Fours.
Bertman’s wife of 63 years, Sandy, died in March of 2025 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Even after her passing, Skip was a fixture at Alex Box Stadium for baseball games and was present in Omaha for LSU’s eighth College World Series championship in June of 2025.
The Bertmans raised four daughters, Jan, Jodi, Lisa Jo and Lori, and had four grandchildren.
