Skip Bertman - Athletic Director

Athletic Director

In six years as LSU's director of athletics, Bertman 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 all sports, making the LSU student-athlete experience a success on and off the fields of competition.

Bertman oversaw a massive upgrade to LSU's athletics complex throughout his tenure. Working hand in hand with the Tiger Athletic Foundation, Bertman has already helped oversee the completion of the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes while launching renovations to Tiger Stadium and the Pete Maravich Assembly Center, the construction of a new Football Operations Center and in 2009, the opening of new stadiums for the baseball and softball teams. Construction is in progress on new practice facilities for the basketball and gymnastics teams.

Bertman also moved 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, responsible for an athletic budget of $52 million. He succeeded Joe Dean, a former Tiger basketball standout who held the position for 14 years.

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. Laval led the Tigers to the College World Series in 2003 and 2004, but tailed off in his final two seasons, losing the 2005 regional championship game at home to Rice before the disastrous 2006 campaign.

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. Mainieri would lead the Tigers to the 2009 College World Series championship, the sixth baseball national championship in school history and the first not won with Bertman as head coach.

Bertman presided over two football national championship seasons as athletic director. The Tigers won the 2003 BCS championship under coach Nick Saban. When Saban left at the end of the 2004 season to coach the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League, Bertman moved quickly to hire Oklahoma State coach Les Miles. Miles led LSU to a consensus national championship in 2007 despite losing triple overtime games to Kentucky and Arkansas.

Other success in Bertman's tenure included five consecutive trips to the NCAA women's basketball Final Four (2004–08) under four different coaches, an appearance in the men's basketball Final Four in 2006, a trip to the Women's College World Series in softbal in 2004, and six NCAA outdoor track championships (three men, three women).

The LSU Board of Supervisors approved Bertman's three-year contract extension. Bertman's new extension, which was approved without discussion, called for the former coach to be paid $425,000 annually beginning July 1, 2007, and ending June 30, 2010. Bertman, who served as Athletic Director since leaving his coaching position after the 2001 baseball season, stepped down in 2008 to become athletic director emeritus as dictated by his contract. As athletic director emeritus, Bertman is primarily to be involved with fundraising.