J. Stanley Bertman, the 88‑year‑old former LSU baseball coach and longtime athletics director, died early Friday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, on May 23, 1938, and raised in Miami Beach, Florida, J. Stanley Bertman arrived at LSU in 1983 and quickly reshaped the program.
During his 18‑season tenure as head coach from 1984 to 2001, he guided the Tigers to five NCAA National Championships — 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000 — and amassed an 870‑330 record, the highest winning percentage in SEC history.
Championship Legacy
His teams made 11 College World Series appearances and he coached 41 players who went on to Major League Baseball, including three who earned spots in the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Among the alumni he mentored were Ben McDonald, Todd Walker and Eddy Furniss, all of whom enjoyed successful Major League careers.
Bertman also served as pitching coach for the 1988 U.S. Olympic baseball team that captured gold and led the 1996 U.S. squad to a bronze medal.
As athletics director from 2001 to 2008, he hired four coaches — Les Miles, Paul Mainieri, Chuck Winstead and Dennis Shaver — who later added national titles to LSU’s résumé.
He pioneered innovative fundraising methods that lifted LSU Athletics to national prominence, helping the program lead the country in attendance 26 times since 1996, often drawing crowds of more than 11,000 per game.
Honors and Community Service
His No. 15 jersey was retired at LSU and the baseball stadium was renamed Skip Bertman Field in 2013. He was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (2002), the College Baseball Hall of Fame (2006) and the LSU Athletics Hall of Fame (2011).
Beyond baseball, Bertman was a dedicated philanthropist, serving on the boards of United Way, Cancer Services, and the Alzheimer’s Association, and he supported numerous charitable causes.
He is survived by his wife, Sandy Bertman, and his daughters, though his daughter Dr. Lisa Jo Pate passed away earlier this year.
Tributes have highlighted his lasting impact on the sport, his mentorship of coaches such as Les Miles and Paul Mainieri, and his role in shaping LSU into a perennial powerhouse.