Skip Bertman, the LSU baseball coach who turned an overlooked program into a national powerhouse, died Friday in Baton Rouge. He was 88.

Bertman was born in Detroit in 1938 and raised in Miami Beach, Florida. He played baseball at the University of Miami before beginning his coaching career at Miami Beach High School. He later returned to Miami as an assistant to coach Ron Fraser, helping the Hurricanes reach five College World Series and win the 1982 national championship.

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LSU hired Bertman in 1983. The Tigers had never won a national championship and were averaging fewer than 500 fans per game at an aging Alex Box Stadium. Bertman spent the next 18 seasons changing nearly every facet of the program, from recruiting and facilities to marketing and game preparation.

The results followed. LSU reached the College World Series 11 times under Bertman and won five national championships: 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000. The Tigers also won seven SEC championships. Bertman retired with an 870-330-3 record, and his .754 NCAA Tournament winning percentage remains the highest in tournament history, according to the Associated Press.

Bertman turned LSU baseball into major attraction

Bertman’s teams changed the culture of baseball in Baton Rouge. “Baseball at the Box” became a major attraction, with crowds growing as LSU established itself among college baseball’s elite. Forty-one of Bertman’s players eventually reached the major leagues.

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“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,” LSU head coach Jay Johnson said in a statement. “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.”

Legacy extended by work as LSU AD

Bertman retired as LSU’s baseball coach in 2001 and immediately became the university’s athletic director, a position he held through 2008. He helped reshape the department’s fundraising operation and hired four coaches who later won national championships at LSU, including football coach Les Miles and baseball coach Paul Mainieri.

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Even after leaving the athletic director’s office, Bertman remained a presence around LSU. The playing surface at Alex Box Stadium was named Skip Bertman Field in 2013. The annual national coach of the year award in college baseball bears his name.

Bertman was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Sandy, and daughter Lisa. He is survived by daughters Jan, Jodi and Lori and four grandchildren.

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