Billy Joe “Red” McCombs, UT benefactor and San Antonio business mogul, died on Sunday, according to a statement released by the McCombs family Monday. 

According to the statement, McCombs died “surrounded by family who loved and adored him.”

“Red was a visionary entrepreneur who touched many lives and impacted our community in immeasurable ways,” the family said in the statement. “We mourn the loss of a Texas icon.”

The School of Business was renamed in his honor after a $50 million donation in 2000. McCombs also helped fund the University softball fields and the north end zone facility in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, both named in his honor. 

The McCombs School of Business is currently putting together a tribute webpage in his honor and organizing other services, a University representative said in an email.    

Born in Spurs, Texas in 1927, McCombs attended UT in the business and law schools after serving in World War II. He began selling cars at a Ford dealership in Corpus Christi, his family said. In 1953, he opened McCombs Used Cars in Corpus Christi.

He would later work to help his former boss Austin Hemphill revive his struggling San Antonio dealership. The family said he fell in love with the city, so McCombs proceeded to make San Antonio his family’s permanent residence. 

After establishing himself as a businessman, McCombs and a group of other contributors made a deal to establish the San Antonio Spurs and keep the NBA team in the city permanently to put the town on the map. He would also go on to briefly own the Minnesota Vikings and the Denver Nuggets.

In his later years, McCombs was known for donating to various causes and organizations, including $30 million to MD Anderson for the creation of the Institute of Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer in San Antonio. 

McCombs’ death follows that of his late wife, Charline. The McCombs family said they will “carry the torch” and honor his legacy as a philanthropist and businessman.