BATON ROUGE — Raymond “Smoke” Laval has resigned as head coach of the LSU baseball team, athletic director Skip Bertman announced on Sunday.
Bertman held a press conference at 4:30 p.m. CT on Sunday to discuss the future of the LSU baseball program. (Quotes below)
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“I have enjoyed serving as the coach of the Tigers for the last five years and will always remember the many players who came through this program during that time,” Laval said. “I feel like we accomplished a lot and achieved some great things in reaching the College World Series twice and competing in four NCAA Tournaments.”
Laval ends his LSU career with a record of 210-109-1 and an SEC mark of 88-60-1. The Tigers played in the College World Series in 2003 and 2004 and won the SEC Championship in 2003.
Bertman said a search for a replacement will begin immediately.
“This is one of the finest baseball programs in the nation, with the greatest fans in the country, and we plan to bring in a coach who reflects that level of excellence,” Bertman said.
LSU BASEBALL PRESS CONFERENCE
June 4, 2006
Athletics Director Skip Bertman
Opening Statement…
“This morning I met with Smoke Laval and accepted his resignation as head coach of the LSU Tigers. All of us at LSU thank Smoke and his staff for his hard work through the last five years. He took the Tigers to the College World Series twice and won the Southeastern Conference championship once. Naturally, I wish him and all of his assistant coaches great success in the future.”
“LSU has a rich history in baseball that dates back over a century. There have been many great players and, certainly, many great teams. In recent years the level of excellence reached even greater heights as the Tigers reached the College World Series with regularity and won five national championships. The expectations for the program are high, and they should be. I have high expectations. Our fans have high expectations. I’m committed to bringing to LSU the kind of coach that will compete for the Southeastern Conference championship and continue to play with success in the NCAA championship on a regular basis ? go to Omaha and compete for national championships.”
“I think LSU baseball has become part of South Louisiana ? part of the culture. Naturally, I take this very seriously. I want to find the right coach for the program that is, obviously, very personal to me. At this time, though, I have not spoken to one coach in the United State, so help me God. I will not speak to any coaches who are involved in the NCAA tournament until the season is complete. I don’t think that’s fair to the coach, and I’m not going to do that. There is no artificial deadline for me to have the coach. I want to be deliberate. I want to find the right person for this very high profile job.”
On LSU not making an NCAA regional appearance…
“I received numerous phone calls from media people starting Monday when LSU did not make a regional for the first time in some years. The answer to anybody’s question, I am positive, I am certain that it’s not coach Laval’s fault that they didn’t get into the regional. They were deserving. While I have been on the baseball selection committee myself, I would never criticize the committee. But I will disagree with their judgment in not taking LSU. I think I probably know a little bit more about that than most people.”
On what he faces in hiring a new coach…
“I think hiring a new coach is not as easy as people might think. The coach that resigned had the most wins in the Southeastern Conference in the last five years, more than any of the other 11 coaches. He had the most wins totally in the last five years over every coach except for the coach at South Carolina. He’s the only coach besides the South Carolina coach who has been to the College World Series more than once. No other coach has won the conference more than one time in the last five years. I think that’s a lot of pressure. The standards here are high and the pressure is great.”
On his relationship with Smoke Laval…
“I’ve been with Smoke since 1984. This is as hard of a situation as I’ve ever been through. It’s very personal and it’s very difficult. I think the best interest of LSU was served in Smoke’s resignation. I think that’s still the most important thing that we do what’s best for LSU. That was the toughest thing. I think I’ve been with other coaches since I’ve been the AD six other times in similar situations, but I didn’t know them that well.”
On if he would consider returning to coaching…
“I’m not going to rule that out. If that’s what LSU needs to put the best baseball team and best product on the field, I would not rule that out. Although, I’m not sure I’d want to do that. At the time when I took the AD’s job, I think it was in the best interest of LSU for me to do that because of some political problems at the time. I do what’s best for LSU. That’s what it takes. I wouldn’t rule that out. One of the problems that we’ve had is we’re raising money for the new baseball stadium, which starts construction next fall. It opens the season of 2008. That’s only one year away with one more year at Alex Box (Stadium). It’s very important for me to raise the money. The chancellor (Sean O’Keefe) also has a fundraising campaign ? Forever LSU ? which starts June 18 that I am a part of as well. I’ll have to look into it and we’ll have to see.”
On when he’ll begin contacting potential coaching candidates…
“I’m not going to talk to any coach or any AD until they’re finished. I’m going to Omaha from June 20-23, but not for this reason. I’m going for a hall of fame function where hall of famers are being introduced in the inaugural banquet. I just happen to be going. I’m still not going to speak to anybody if they’re participating. I’ve been there. You can’t have a lot of distractions, and that would be a giant distraction. What I’m going to do today, tonight and tomorrow is I’ll call every single player and every single recruit that was recruited by Smoke, Turtle (Thomas) or Brady (Wiederhold) and tell them that I am going to get them the best possible coaching staff, even if I have to do it myself. But I will not make a mistake.”
On if he will consult a third party during the coaching search…
“I will confer with a head-hunting firm that will call to speak with them, but again, not during the playoffs. I won’t even let somebody else do it. If a coach is eliminated, I will use a head-hunting firm to assess the acceptability of this coach for the LSU position by getting him the perameters of the job. He’ll call the people who I ask him to call as opposed to searching on his own. I am probably going to do that. I won’t do that either (speak to a coach’s representative). I’ll just wait for them to be eliminated (from the tournament).”