Skip Bertman Scholarship '24 - '25
Awarded $1,250
About this scholarship
Hall of Fame member Skip Bertman graduated from Beach High in 1956, later serving as head baseball coach for 11 seasons. During that time, Beach High won a state championship and was state runner-up twice and Bertman was named Florida High School Coach of the Year three times. He then went on to work as associate head coach at the University of Miami for eight seasons (1976–1983) under Ron Fraser. During this time, the Hurricanes won the national championship in 1982.
Then, he was hired by athletic director Bob Brodhead to coach LSU in 1984, and he transformed LSU into a baseball powerhouse, guiding the Tigers to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, 11 College World Series appearances, seven Southeastern Conference (SEC) championships, and five NCAA baseball national championships in 18 seasons. LSU won its first two College World Series titles in 1991 and 1993, each time defeating Wichita State in the championship game. In 1996, LSU defeated Bertman's alma mater Miami for its third national title. Its fourth title came in 1997 with a 13–6 victory over Alabama in an all-SEC championship final. LSU defeated Stanford in the 2000 championship game for Bertman's fifth and final CWS title.
While at LSU, Bertman was honored as the Collegiate Baseball Coach of the Year five times, Baseball America Coach of the Year twice, and the SEC Coach of the Year seven times, including four straight from 1990 to 1993. Bertman's teams also drew large crowds to LSU's Alex Box Stadium, as the Tigers led the nation in collegiate baseball attendance in each of his final six seasons (1996–2001).
Bertman also served as an assistant coach for the United States national baseball team which finished in first place at the 1988 Summer Olympics, where baseball was a demonstration sport. He then served as head coach of the national team in 1995 and 1996, which captured the bronze medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics by defeating Nicaragua, 10–3.
The scholarship is generally awarded to an outstanding graduating athlete at Beach High.
Previous donors: Paul Rosenthal