BATON ROUGE — LSU is holding a Celebration of Life tonight to honor legendary LSU baseball coach and athletics director Skip Bertman. The event is open to the public.
Bertman passed away Friday on Aug. 14 at the age of 88. While he was not originally from Louisiana, Bertman came to be known and recognized as synonymous with LSU Baseball and championing athletic greatness.
Born in Detroit, Bertman was raised in Miami Beach, where he later met his wife Sandy, who preceded him in death in March 2025. They were married for 63 years and had four children.
Bertman arrived at LSU in the summer of 1983. He coached LSU Baseball for 18 seasons (1984-2001) before working as the athletics director for seven years.
According to LSU Athletics, Bertman compiled an 870-330-3 (.724) record at LSU, leading the Tigers to five national championships and 11 College World Series berths. He is one of only three coaches in NCAA Division I history to win five College World Series titles, and he was voted National Coach of the Year in 1986, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000.
As athletics director, he hired four coaches who won National Championships at LSU. Those included Les Miles (football), Paul Mainieri (baseball), Chuck Winstead (men’s golf), and Dennis Shaver (men’s and women’s track & field).
East Baton Rouge Mayor-President shared his memories of Bertman:
“For most people in sports, being inducted into the Hall of Fame is the highest honor they can achieve. But there are a rare few whose legacies become bigger than any award—people who were so dominant that everyone who comes after them is measured against the standard they set.
In college baseball, that will always be Skip Bertman.
I always loved talking sports with Coach Bertman. He was a true genius of the game, but what impressed me most wasn’t simply his knowledge of baseball. It was his understanding of leadership—his ability to take a group of young people, get them to believe in one another, and unite them behind a single goal. There are lessons in that which extend far beyond the baseball field.
These are the last pictures I took with Coach Bertman, just before the 2025 National Championship Celebration. We were telling old stories, and I was talking with him about my first six months as Mayor-President. It is a conversation and a moment I’ll always be grateful for.
Coach Bertman will forever be remembered as one of the greatest college baseball coaches of all time. But here in Baton Rouge, his legacy is even greater. He helped transform LSU Baseball, brought championships and unforgettable memories to generations of Louisianans, and left an impact on our community that will endure for generations.
Baton Rouge and the State of Louisiana are forever in his debt.
May Coach Bertman rest in peace, and may God bless his family and all those who loved him.”
LSU Vice President/Director of Athletics Verge Ausberry:
“Few people have had a greater impact on LSU than Skip Bertman. 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.”
LSU Baseball Coach Jay Johnson:
“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. 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.
I love you Coach, I will miss you, and will continue to work every day in a manner that I know would make you proud.”
A Celebration of Life will take place at 7 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on LSU’s campus and will be free and open to the public. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Seating will be general admission for the public in the PMAC upper bowl with entrance located at the top of the exterior ramps. Floor and lower bowl seating will be reserved for guests of the Bertman family.
The event will also broadcast live on ESPN+, as well as the LSU Sports YouTube and Facebook pages.
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