BATON ROUGE — Former LSU baseball head coach and Baton Rouge icon Stanley “Skip” Bertman died at the age of 88 following a brief hospitalization due to heart-related issues, LSU Athletic Director Verge Auberry told WBRZ on Friday.

Bertman is revered as the architect of LSU Tiger baseball for transforming the program from an afterthought in 1983 into a five-time national champion by the time he retired from coaching in 2001.

The Miami native would guide the Tigers to five NCAA College World Series championships (1991, ’93, ’96, ’97, ’00) over his tenure in Baton Rouge and would help establish college baseball as a viable and profitable enterprise throughout the South and especially in the Southeastern Conference.

His legacy far surpasses that of the collegiate game as countless young men in the Baton Rouge area grew up idolizing his Tiger teams and playing out their dreams each summer in Skip’s summer camps. Bertman’s impact in introducing the game to thousands of South Louisiana boys can be credited with the prevalence of travel ball we see today.

Bertman's accolades include: 

National Championships
2000, 1997, 1996, 1993, 1991

SEC Championships
1997, 1996, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1990, 1986

Career Record (1984-2001)
870-330-3 (.724)

NCAA Tournament Record
89-29 (.754), highest winning percentage in NCAA history

National Coach of the Year
2000, 1997, 1996, 1993, 1991, 1986

College World Series Appearances
2000, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1994, 1993, 1991, 1990, 1989, 1987, 1986

Bertman’s blueprint and foundation would continue to help guide LSU to three more national titles under his eventual successors, as Paul Mainieri (2009) and Jay Johnson (2023, 2025) would add to the Tigers’ national title dominance.

A master tactician of the game, Bertman had the unique ability to see the game unfold before the actual events played out on the field; his knowledge of the game was transformative for the players and coaches who worked with him on the field.

During his 18 seasons as the head coach of the Tigers were a remarkable 20-1 in NCAA postseason championship games and a perfect 5-0 in the College World Series finale.

The six-time national coach of the year took LSU to the College World Series eleven times in his 18 seasons as the head man.

Skip’s coaching prowess transcended the collegiate game as he was also the head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team and led Team USA to a bronze medal in Atlanta. During his time leading Team USA throughout the summers of 1995 and 1996, Bertman’s teams amassed a staggering 71-11 record, culminating with a win over Nicaragua in the bronze medal game.

Bertman has been inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

However, Bertman’s days of guidance at LSU were not over once his baseball coaching career ended, as Skip soon transitioned into the role of athletic director in July of 2001.

Under his leadership, LSU Athletics was able to implement much-needed revenue-generating efforts that helped usher in the “golden age” of Tiger success across a number of programs.

The 2006-07 season saw 12 LSU teams finish among the nation’s top 25, including a No. 3 final ranking for the football team and a fourth consecutive Final Four appearance by the women’s basketball squad. The LSU men’s and women’s track and field teams each finished No. 2 in the nation.

In 2005-06, LSU joined North Carolina (1997-98) as the only schools to have their football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams all finish in the nation’s Top 5.

Bertman’s guidance as Athletic Director helped pave the way for the construction of several large athletic venues, including football’s Operations Center, the new Alex Box Stadium for baseball and softball’s Tiger Park. In 2013, the field at Alex Box was named after Bertman in honor of his legacy at LSU.

Bertman officially retired from his AD role in 2008 but continued as an ambassador and fund-raiser for the university for years to follow.

Before coming to LSU, Bertman made his name as a top-tier assistant coach for Ron Fraser at the University of Miami. Bertman and Fraser made for a fantastic combination as Fraser was a masterful promoter of the game and Bertman would handle the tactical aspects and development of the team. Bertman would use some of the same promotional practices that worked at Miami to help grow interest in the LSU program once he took over in Baton Rouge.

Bertman played for and graduated from Miami during the late 1950s and early 1960s and would then start his coaching career at Miami Beach High School, where he was named Florida’s Coach of the Year three different times.

Skip was preceded in death by his wife Sandy and his daughter Lisa.

Funeral arrangements and memorial service times have not been determined.