BATON ROUGE – Stanley "Skip" Bertman, one of the major pillars of the perennial college baseball program LSU baseball, has died.
Surrounded by loved ones, Bertman passed away in the early hours of Aug. 14. He was 88.
In 18 years as LSU's head baseball coach from 1984 to 2001, Bertman led the Tigers to five College World Series championships along with seven Southeastern Conference titles. LSU won 870 games under Bertman, who had an impressive .724 win percentage.
His .743 NCAA postseason career mark was a record at the time of his retirement in 2001. Under him, the Tigers captured five College World Series championships in an unheard of 10-year span.
LSU BASEBALL LOSES MATRIACH, SANDY BERTMAN
Before Bertman took over at LSU, the baseball team had won just five conference championships which the latest one coming nine years before the legendary coach came to Baton Rouge.
LSU was quickly turned into one of the most revered teams in college baseball under Bertman, making the NCAA Tournament 15 of the 16 seasons he was the skipper, with 1988 being the only year LSU missed it. A statue, erected in 2019, of Bertman's likeness now stands outside of the front gates to Alex Box Stadium.
After stepping down as LSU baseball coach, Bertman stepped into an administrative career and assumed the role of athletics director at LSU. In that role, Bertman presided over the LSU football team and then coach Nick Saban went on to win the 2003 national championship.
The LSU women's basketball team also went on a legendary run while Bertman served as AD with five straight trips to the NCAA Final Four, led by eventual basketball legend and Baton Rouge native Seimone Augustus.
In March of 2025, Bertman lost his wife, Sandy. They were married for 63 years.
Cory Diaz covers the LSU Tigers for The Daily Advertiser as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his Tigers coverage on Twitter: @ByCoryDiaz. Got questions regarding LSU athletics? Send them to Cory Diaz at bdiaz@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Iconic LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman dies