Kandee Denise Coates
February 16, 2007Ruthie Mae “Betty” Smith
February 22, 2007
Skip Bertman has agreed to a contract extension and has announced that he plans to retire as athletic director in June of 2008.
The agreement provides for Bertman’s service as Athletic Director Emeritus for two years following his retirement. The contract terms will take effect once approved by the LSU Board of Supervisors.
As athletic director emeritus, Bertman will assist the athletic department and the University’s ‘Forever LSU’ capital campaign, and will participate in fundraising for the university in general and the athletic program in particular, while assisting with the University’s transition to a new athletic director.
From the beginning of his tenure as athletic director, Bertman was dedicated to establishing a comprehensive and competitive athletic program aimed at success throughout LSU’s 20 varsity sports. In all, LSU has won eight Southeastern Conference titles and seven national championships under Bertman’s administration, and total attendance at LSU athletic home events has risen to a record 1.1 million fans per year.
Annually, 12-15 of LSU’s sports teams participate in postseason competition, most of which finish in the nation’s top 15 on a regular basis.
Bertman came to LSU from the University of Miami in the fall of 1983 and immediately breathed life into a lagging baseball program. His energy and vision turned the Tiger baseball program into a winner and a perennial national championship contender. Under his direction, the Tiger baseball program became a revenue-producer at LSU as Alex Box Stadium became home to the highest attendance in the nation 11 years in a row. He led the Tigers to five national championships, winning the College World Series in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000.
Bertman served as the head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team, capturing a bronze medal, and since his retirement he has been named to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame and in 2006 he was named to the inaugural class of the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bertman has been AD since 1991. He has worked hand-in-hand with the Tiger Athletic Foundation to raise funds for the renovation of the Old Gym Armory to create the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student-Athletes that opened in 2002. Today, the Academic Center is widely considered the finest of its kind in America.
In 2003, Bertman introduced the Tradition Fund, a bold but essential initiative, creating a ticket-contribution plan that gave LSU the necessary revenue to fund a nationally-competitive program while enabling the athletic department to embark on an aggressive facility building program.
Under Bertman’s direction, and with participation from the TAF, LSU has seen a renovation of the west side of Tiger Stadium, the construction of a Football Operations Center, and the renovation of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. He has put into motion the construction of new stadiums for baseball and softball, a new basketball practice facility and a new merchandise store.
In 2005, Bertman guided LSU athletics through a trying period in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The LSU athletic complex became a hub for hurricane medical recovery efforts, and Tiger Stadium served as a temporary home for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. And in 2006, the LSU became the first school in SEC history to outright win the league title in both men’s and women’s basketball, as both teams advanced to the Final Four.
FOOTBALL WILL OPEN 2007 SEASON ON THURSDAY NIGHT
LSU will open the 2007 football season on a Thursday night as the Tigers will face Mississippi State in Starkville Aug. 30 on ESPN.
The game will be the first time LSU will appear on the network’s Thursday night telecast.
The 2007 season will mark the first time since 1991 that LSU will play a conference game to open the year. LSU lost at Georgia to open the 1991 season. It also marks the second time in three years that LSU will go on the road to start a season. LSU beat Arizona State, 35-31, in Tempe to open the 2005 season.
The moving of the Mississippi State game to Aug. 30 also forced the Tigers to shift the Middle Tennessee contest, originally scheduled as LSU’s 2007 season opener, to Sept. 15.
LSU’s 2007 home opener now comes against Virginia Tech on Sept. 8.
The rest of the 2007 LSU schedule remains unchanged at this time. The Arkansas game may be moved to its traditional Friday date but that determination has not yet been made by the SEC and the television networks.
LSU returns a total of 14 starters from last year’s team that posted an 11-2 overall mark and finished the year ranked No. 3 in the nation following the 41-14 win over Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl.
LADY TIGERS PULL AWAY FROM ARKANSAS
LSU’s seventh-ranked women’s basketball team used a 24-0 run in the second half to pull away from Arkansas in an 86-65 win on Thursday night in Bud Walton Arena. With the score tied at 49, the Lady Tigers (23-4 overall, 9-2 in the SEC) used a 24-0 run to put the game away.
Sylvia Fowles sparked LSU with 23 points and 20 rebounds.
Quianna Chaney added 21 points in the victory, including 10 in the run the broke the game open. Erica White posted 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the game.
TWO SOFTBALL SENIORS DRAFTED
All-American seniors Leslie Klein and Emily Turner were both selected by the Philadelphia Force in the National Pro Fastpitch draft on Wednesday.
Klein was selected the first pick of the second round and the ninth pick overall by the Force, while Turner was the sixth pick of round three. Klein is a two-time All-American center fielder for the Tigers, while Turner earned her first All-America honor last year in the circle.
The pair join former LSU standouts Trena Peel, LaDonia Hughes and Stephanie Hill to be drafted by the professional league. Six NPF teams will compete in 2007 season include the 2006 Defending Champions, the New England Riptide, the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, Rockford Thunder, the Washington Glory, the league’s newest team and the Philadelphia Force, which will be operating under new ownership.
Due to NCAA regulations, an active college senior may not sign with her respective franchise until their 2007 college season is finished. For players selected in the Senior Draft, they will be permitted to pursue any available roster spot on their assigned team after completing their college season.
MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM LOSES ANOTHER CLOSE GAME
Clarence Sanders scored 29 points, including the game-winning basket with less than a second remaining, to give Mississippi a 71-70 win over LSU Wednesday night.
LSU (14-11, 3-8) was led by Glen Davis’ 26 points and 11 rebounds.
Darnell Lazare scored 22 points and Tasmin Mitchell added 11 for the Tigers, who had won six straight games over the Rebels.
Photo by STEVE FRANZ/LSU * ATHLETIC DIRECTOR SKIP BERTMAN
