Skip Bertman’s wife was Sandy Bertman, his partner of 63 years and a beloved figure in the LSU baseball community. The legendary LSU baseball coach and athletic director, Stanley “Skip” Bertman, died early Friday, August 14, 2026, at Baton Rouge General hospital, passing away at 1:12 a.m. surrounded by his daughters. He was 88 years old. His death comes roughly a year and a half after Sandy Bertman passed away on March 13, 2025, at the age of 87. Their story, spanning more than six decades, remains one of the most cherished off-the-field narratives in LSU athletics history.
How Skip and Sandy Bertman Met
Sandy Bertman was born Sandra Schwartz in Brooklyn, New York. In 1961, she was working as a teacher at Madie Ives Elementary School in Miami, Florida, when she met a fellow faculty member named Stanley “Skip” Bertman. At the time, Skip was coaching youth baseball and teaching while pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Miami. The two hit it off quickly, and their courtship moved fast by any standard.
Sandy and Skip became engaged just three months after their first meeting. They married on February 11, 1962, beginning a partnership that would carry them from Miami classrooms to the top of college baseball’s national stage.
Building a Family Together
Over the course of their marriage, Skip and Sandy Bertman raised four daughters: Jan, Jodi, Lisa, and Lori. The couple later became grandparents to four grandchildren, Sophie Faith, Isaac Stanley, Samuel Aaron, and Ezra Michael. Family remained central to the Bertmans throughout Skip’s coaching career, and Sandy was widely credited with holding the household together while her husband built one of the most successful programs in college baseball history.
Tragedy touched the family in 2012, when their daughter, Dr. Lisa Jo Bertman Pate, died after a battle with cancer. Despite that loss, Sandy and Skip remained devoted to their surviving daughters and grandchildren for the rest of their lives together.
Sandy Bertman’s Role in LSU Baseball History
Skip Bertman coached LSU baseball from 1984 to 2001, leading the Tigers to five national championships and seven Southeastern Conference titles. He then served as LSU’s athletic director from 2001 to 2008. Sandy moved to Baton Rouge with Skip and their daughters in the summer of 1983, when he was hired as LSU’s head baseball coach, and the family lived in the same Baton Rouge home from 1983 onward.
Throughout Skip’s tenure, Sandy became known within the LSU baseball community as “the matriarch of LSU baseball.” Former players affectionately called her “Sandy Bear” and described her as a constant presence at games, someone who supported both her husband and her daughters while never missing a moment of the program’s rise to national prominence. Longtime players have said that Sandy deserved recognition alongside Skip for the program’s success, noting that she was as much a part of the LSU baseball family as any coach or player.
When Jay Johnson took over as LSU’s head baseball coach following the 2021 season, Skip and Sandy welcomed Johnson and his wife, Maureen, into their home, continuing a tradition of hospitality and mentorship that extended well beyond Skip’s own coaching years.
Sandy Bertman’s Death in March 2025
Sandy Bertman died on the night of March 13, 2025, in Baton Rouge, following a battle with cancer that lasted approximately three years. She was 87 years old. In the time before her death, daughters Jan, Jodi, and Lori, along with Skip, had been helping care for her at home.
Her visitation and funeral service were held on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, at the United Jewish Congregation of Baton Rouge, with visitation beginning at 9:30 a.m. and the funeral service following at 11 a.m. The synagogue was filled with members of the LSU baseball family who came to honor her legacy. LSU’s athletic department publicly recognized her as a source of strength for Skip throughout his coaching and administrative career, and former players spoke openly about the impact she had on the program’s culture over the decades.
Skip Bertman’s Death and Legacy
Skip Bertman died on August 14, 2026, at the age of 88, less than eighteen months after losing Sandy. LSU confirmed that he passed away peacefully at Baton Rouge General hospital, with his daughters by his side. His death closes the final chapter on one of the most influential partnerships in college sports history, one built as much on Sandy’s steady support as on Skip’s competitive drive.
Bertman’s coaching resume remains among the most decorated in the sport. He led LSU to national championships in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997, and 2000, while posting a career record of 870-330-3 and an NCAA tournament winning percentage of .754, the highest in college baseball history. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 and later coached Team USA to a bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Beyond the championships, Bertman is widely credited with transforming college baseball into a major attendance draw, packing the original Alex Box Stadium and helping LSU lead the nation in attendance during his final six seasons.
His legacy has been honored in multiple ways in recent years. The Skip Bertman National Coach of the Year Award, presented annually by the College Baseball Foundation, has recognized standout coaches since 2013, with UCLA’s John Savage receiving the 2026 honor in June. In April 2026, his hometown baseball field in Miami Beach was officially renamed Stanley Skip Bertman Field, a tribute to the diamond where he first learned the game before eventually reshaping it at the college level.
A Lasting Partnership Remembered
Skip and Sandy Bertman are survived by their daughters Jan, Jodi, and Lori, along with their grandchildren. Together, they built a life that intertwined family devotion with one of the most successful eras in college baseball history. Sandy’s steady presence off the field is often described by those close to the program as inseparable from Skip’s success on it, and their 63-year marriage stands as one of the defining relationships behind LSU’s rise to a national baseball powerhouse.
As tributes continue to pour in from former players, coaches, and LSU officials following Skip’s passing, many are once again reflecting on the partnership he shared with Sandy, a bond that shaped not just a family, but an entire era of LSU athletics.
Share your memories of Skip and Sandy Bertman in the comments below, and stay tuned for continuing coverage of tributes and funeral arrangements as they are announced.