Skip Bertman, LSU baseball coach with five national titles, dies at 88

Skip Bertman, the coach who built LSU into a college baseball powerhouse and later steered the university's athletic department, died early Friday morning at age 88, according to ESPN's reporting. Bertman took over LSU's baseball program in 1984 and guided the Tigers to five Men's College World Series national championships in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 2000.

Bertman's teams reached the Men's College World Series 11 times and compiled a record of 870 wins against 330 losses and 3 ties. Per ESPN's reporting, his teams won more than 75 percent of their MCWS games, the highest winning percentage in NCAA history. During his tenure, LSU won seven SEC titles. Bertman was named national coach of the year seven times and was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in its inaugural class in 2006, according to ESPN. He retired as LSU's baseball coach in 2001.

Bertman became LSU's athletic director in January 2001 and held that position while leading the baseball program. Under his oversight as athletic director, the university won football national championships under Nick Saban in 2003 and Les Miles in 2007, per ESPN. His LSU baseball teams sent 41 players to the major leagues, including Albert Belle, Todd Walker, Mike Fontenot, Paul Byrd, Mark Guthrie, and Russ Springer.

Bertman's tenure at LSU extended beyond his home program. He was an assistant coach on the 1988 U.S. Olympic team that won gold and served as head coach of the U.S. Olympic squad that won bronze in Atlanta in 1996, according to ESPN. In college baseball history polling, Baseball America ranked Bertman the second-greatest coach of the 20th century in a poll released in January 1999, behind only USC's Rod Dedeaux.

Born in Detroit on May 23, 1938, Bertman played as an outfielder and catcher at the University of Miami from 1958 to 1960. Before taking the LSU job, he coached high school baseball for 10 years at Miami Beach High School and worked as an assistant at Miami under Ron Fraser. His No. 15 jersey was permanently retired at LSU, and the street in front of the original Alex Box Stadium was renamed Skip Bertman Drive.

Bertman was preceded in death by his wife, Sandy, who died in March 2025, and daughter Lisa Jo Pate, per ESPN. He is survived by daughters Jan, Jodi, and Lori, and four grandchildren. LSU athletic director Verge Ausberry called Bertman "the greatest college baseball coach of all-time," according to ESPN.