AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn baseball and head coach Butch Thompson are excited to announce the 18th annual Auburn Diamond Club Preseason Banquet, which will be held Saturday, Feb. 9 at 6 p.m. CT at Auburn Arena.
Headlining this year's banquet are three of the greatest coaches in the history of Southeastern Conference baseball in former Auburn head coach Hal Baird (1985-2000), former LSU head coach Skip Bertman (1984-2001) and former Mississippi State (1976-97; 2002-08) and Georgia (2000-01) head coach Ron Polk.
The trio of SEC Legends makes up three of the 10 winningest coaches in SEC history and accounted for 3,022 career wins, including 2,722 victories with their respective SEC programs.
"When I think of SEC baseball and how we've gotten to where we are today, I think of Hal Baird, Skip Bertman and Ron Polk," Thompson said. "Feb. 9 will be a unique celebration through stories of how the top conference in the country came to be. I'd like to give a special thanks to the Auburn Diamond Club for the vision to host a second-to-none evening that will attract not only the Auburn Family, but SEC baseball enthusiasts everywhere."
Baird led the Tigers to 634 wins in his 16 seasons on The Plains and is the program's winningest coach. In his final seven seasons alone, he guided Auburn to three NCAA Regional titles, a SEC Western Division Championship, a SEC Tournament Championship and a pair of College World Series berths in 1994 and 1997. Baird's head coaching career also included five years at East Carolina (1980-84), where he won 145 games and took the Pirates to three NCAA Regionals.
Bertman accounted for 870 wins in his 18 seasons in Baton Rouge and led LSU to five College World Series titles, tied for the most by a head coach in NCAA history. In addition to the five national championships, Bertman's LSU teams made 11 College World Series appearances and claimed seven SEC Championships and six SEC Tournament titles. Bertman posted a career record of 870-330-3 (.724) and is the SEC's winningest coach by percentage. He also served as the head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team.
Polk, who spent 29 seasons leading the Mississippi State baseball program and two at Georgia, is the winningest head coach in SEC history with 1,218 victories. His career as a head coach began with a stint at Georgia Southern (1972-75) and culminated with 1,373 career wins. Polk led his teams to a total of eight College World Series appearances, five SEC Championships and 23 NCAA Regionals. He is one of three coaches in NCAA history to take three different programs to Omaha.
Banquet tickets are on sale now. Member rates are $50 for adults and $35 for children 12 and under. The general public can purchase tickets for $75 apiece. VIP tables are also available for purchase.
Tickets can be purchased online at AUDiamondClub.com/banquet or by calling club president Clint Davis at 334-707-1625. The deadline for reservations is Friday, Feb. 1. For more information or to join the Auburn Diamond Club, visit AUDiamondClub.com.
Thompson and the Tigers begin the 2019 campaign with a three-game series against Georgia Southern from Feb. 15-17. Season tickets, which cost $195 per seat, cover Auburn's 32-game home schedule and include 15 SEC contests. Fans can reach the Auburn ticket office by phone at 1-855-282-2010 or by emailing tickets@auburn.edu. To order tickets online, visit www.aubtix.com.
Baird, Bertman and Polk headline Auburn Diamond Club Preseason Banquet
