Skip Bertman

Skip Bertman. College Baseball Hall of Fame. The head coach of the LSU tigers from 1984-2001, Skip Bertman built the LSU baseball program into a national power and led the Tigers to five national titles. Bertman's teams recorded a sterling 870-330-3 mark (.724) in 18 seasons, giving him the highest all-time winning percentage among SEC coaches. In addition to the five national championships (1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000) Bertman's LSU teams claimed seven SEC championships, nine 50-win seasons, 11 CWS berths and six SEC tournament championships. During Bertman's tenure at LSU, more than 100 players were drafted into professional baseball, with 41 Tigers reaching the major leagues. Bertman produced 11 first-team All-America performers, and more importantly, nearly 100 percent of those who played at least four years in the Tiger program earned their LSU degrees. Bertman was also an accomplished international coach, serving as pitching coach on the 1988 United States gold-medal squad, then leading the USA as head coach to the bronze medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. His #15 jersey was retired by LSU in 2001 and the street in front of the original Alex Box Stadium was re-named Skip Bertman Drive. He served as LSU's Director of Athletics from 2001-2008. Bertman was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association HAll of Fame in January 2003 and into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2006.