J. Stanley "Skip" Bertman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
J. Stanley "Skip" Bertman, is a former college baseball coach who is now entering his sixth year as the athletic director at LSU. He is a legendary coach in LSU baseball history, leading the Tigers to College World Series Championships in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 2000.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
Skip Bertman spent his collegiate playing days as an outfielder and catcher at the University of Miami from 1958-1960. While a player at UM Bertman earned his B.A. in health and physical education. He later received his master's degree from Miami in 1964.
[edit] Coaching career
[edit] University of Miami
In 11 seasons at Miami Beach High School Skip's team won a State Championship and was State runner-up twice. Also, Skip was named Florida High School Coach of the Year 3 times. Based in part on these coaching credentials, Bertman went on to work as associate head coach at the University of Miami for eight seasons (1976-1983) under Ron Fraser, helping the Hurricanes win the 1982 national championship and laying the groundwork for Miami's 1985 national championship, after Bertman had left for LSU.
[edit] Louisiana State University
"Skip" Bertman began coaching at LSU in 1984. Once there, his unyielding desire to succeed drove him to the pinnacle of his profession, and his astute knowledge of the game combined with his steadfast determination and irrepressible enthusiasm transformed LSU Baseball into the nation's premier program.
Bertman guided LSU to five NCAA baseball titles, and his teams drew huge crowds to venerable Alex Box Stadium, as the Tigers led the nation in attendance in each of his final six seasons (1996-2001).
He also served as head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic team which captured the bronze medal in Atlanta.
Bertman continues to be honored for his remarkable coaching tenure, as he was inducted in June, 2002, into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January, 2003, and was a member of the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame on July 4, 2006.
In a Baseball America poll published in 1999, Bertman was voted the second greatest college baseball coach of the 20th century, trailing only Rod Dedeaux of Southern California. Bertman and Dedeaux are the only coaches to win five CWS titles.
[edit] Athletic Director
In just three years as LSU's director of athletics, Bertman has already added to his impressive list of on-the-field achievements. Under his direction, LSU enjoyed arguably the greatest athletics year in the history of the institution in 2003-04. Three teams won national championships, nine teams finished in the nation's top ten, and fourteen teams ranked in the top 25. LSU teams also enjoyed improved grade point averages across the board, making the LSU student-athlete experience a success on and off the fields of competition.
While supervising the Tigers' progress on the playing fields, he has begun to implement measures necessary to realize his vision of building the LSU athletics department into the best in the country. Bertman's bold and innovative plans promise to keep the Tigers among the nation's elite in all phases of collegiate athletics.
Bertman is now in the midst of upgrading LSU's athletics complex. Working hand in hand with the Tiger Athletic Foundation, Bertman has already overseen the completion of the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes while launching renovations to Tiger Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, and beginning construction on a new Football Operations Center.
It was also Bertman who took the bold but essential move to implement a seat contribution program in Tiger Stadium to fund facility improvements and ensure the financial stability of the LSU Athletics Department for the next decade.
Bertman was named LSU's athletics director on January 19, 2001. His current job gives him the unenviable task of managing the Tigers' $52 million budget.
On June 4, 2006, Bertman fired his successor as LSU's baseball coach, Raymond "Smoke" Laval, after the Tigers went 35-24 overall and 13-17 in the SEC, failing to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1988. Bertman speculated that he would consider a return to the dugout if he could not find a suitable candidate to replace Laval, but the job was eventually given to former Notre Dame coach Paul Mainieri.
[edit] Personal
Bertman and his wife Sandy are the parents of four daughters; Jan, Jodi, Lisa and Lori. The Bertman's have four grandchildren; Sophie Faith and Isaac Stanley, the children of Emile and Lori Bertman Guirard, and Samuel Aaron and Ezra Marc, the sons of Drew and Lisa Pate.
[edit] Achievements
Bertman led Team USA to a bronze medal in the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. The team finished the Olympic Games with a 6-1 record on a victory over Nicaragua.
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
| Preceded by: Jack Lamabe |
Louisiana State University Head Baseball Coach 1984-2001 |
Succeeded by: Raymond "Smoke" Laval |
| Preceded by: Joe Dean |
Louisiana State University Athletics Director 2001-Present |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |
