BATON ROUGE — LSU baseball head coach Skip Bertman, who has guided the Tigers to five national championships during his brilliant 17-year tenure, will retire from coaching at the end of the 2001 season, athletic director Joe Dean announced Tuesday. Dean said Bertman will remain with the LSU athletic department as a special assistant to the athletic director, and he will oversee the renovation of Alex Box Stadium.
Bertman’s successor as LSU’s head coach will be Raymond “Smoke” Laval, who has served as head coach at the University of Louisiana at Monroe for the last seven seasons. Laval will join the LSU baseball program next month as the administrative assistant, working in that capacity for one season before becoming head coach at the end of the 2001 campaign.
Bill Franques, LSU’s baseball administrative assistant for the last three seasons, will move to a position in the sports information office, where he worked for nine years before joining the baseball program. Franques will return to the administrative assistant position at the end of the 2001 season.
LSU assistant coaches Dan Canevari, Turtle Thomas and Bill Dailey will retain their positions for the 2001 season, and the staff will remain intact when Laval becomes head coach.
Laval’s appointment is subject to approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors at its next meeting on August 18.
Bertman, 62, has compiled an 826-308-2 (.728) record in 17 seasons (1984-2000) at LSU, guiding the Tigers to College World Series titles in 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000. He has directed LSU to 11 College World Series appearances, seven Southeastern Conference championships, six SEC Tournament titles and nine 50-win seasons.
Bertman and Rod Dedeaux of Southern California are the only coaches to win five NCAA baseball titles. Dedeaux won 10 national championships at USC from 1958-1978. Dedeaux and Bertman were voted No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in a Baseball America magazine survey naming the greatest college baseball coaches of the 20th Century.
Bertman has been named National Coach of the Year six times — 1986, 1991, 1993, 1996, 1997 and 2000. Baseball America named him the “Coach of the ’90s” and LSU the “Program of the ’90s” in its “Best of the Decade” issue at the end of 1999. Bertman has also been voted SEC Coach of the Year on seven occasions.
Bertman won a bronze medal at the ’96 Games in Atlanta. Bertman’s appointment was his second with the U.S. Olympic squad, as he served as pitching coach for the 1988 gold-medal team. In the summers of 1995 and ’96, Bertman guided Team USA to a 71-11 record, including the ’96 Olympic bronze medal and the ’95 National Baseball Congress World Series championship.
Laval, 44, worked as Bertman’s top assistant coach for 10 seasons (1984-93), helping lead LSU to its first two NCAA titles in 1991 and 1993. During Laval’s 10 years as assistant coach, LSU posted a 483-182-1 record, won five SEC titles, appeared in six College World Series and captured two national championships.
Laval compiled a 241-159 mark as the head coach at ULM, guiding the Indians to NCAA Regional appearances in 1995, 1999 and 2000. The 2000 club posted a 41-22 mark en route to the Southland Conference title, tying the ULM record for wins. Laval, the 1999 SLC Coach of the Year, also led the Indians to the 1999 regular-season title and to the 1995 conference tournament crown.
Laval began his coaching career in 1977 as an assistant at Jacksonville University before moving to Wolfson High School in Jacksonville as a baseball and football coach. He served as a graduate assistant at LSU in 1979 under former Tiger head coach Jack Lamabe before working two years as an assistant at Gulf Coast Community College.
Laval served as an assistant coach at Florida for two seasons (1982-83) before returning to LSU to work under Bertman.
Laval holds a bachelor’s degree (1977) from Jacksonville in physical education and a master’s degree (1979) from LSU in administration. The McDonald, Pa., native played two seasons at Gulf Coast Community College, where he lettered as a catcher. He completed his playing career at Jacksonville, where he led the ninth-ranked Dolphins in hitting at the 1976 NCAA South Regional.
Laval and his wife, Pam, are the parents of two children, Brandon and Jamie.
Quote from LSU Chancellor Mark Emmert on the appointment of Smoke Laval:
“I am extremely pleased that Coach Laval is returning to LSU. This appointment will provide continuity and leadership for the best collegiate baseball program in the nation and allow for a smooth transition next season. Coach Laval’s record of success, his approach to the game, and his concern for his student-athletes make him an excellent fit with LSU.”