四虎影院

NPR for North Texas
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Texas billionaire Red McCombs dies at 95

San Antonio businessman Red McCombs speaks at Circuit of the Americas in Austin on Oct. 21, 2012.
Bob Daemmrich
/
The Texas Tribune
San Antonio businessman Red McCombs speaks at Circuit of the Americas in Austin on Oct. 21, 2012.

The businessman gave huge donations to the University of Texas at Austin and is credited with bringing the San Antonio Spurs basketball team to the Alamo City.

B.J. 鈥淩ed鈥 McCombs, a San Antonio businessman who started as a car salesman and grew an empire that spanned media, oil and professional sports, died at his home at age 95.

McCombs, who was born in 1927 in Spur, east of Lubbock, at one point owned 50 car dealerships under the name Red McCombs Automotive Group. He founded Clear Channel Communications with Lowry Mays in 1972, and brought the Spurs to San Antonio in 1973.

McCombs owned the Spurs professional basketball team two separate times and also previously owned the NFL鈥檚 Minnesota Vikings and the NBA鈥檚 Denver Nuggets. Clear Channel Communications is now known as iHeartMedia and is still headquartered in San Antonio.

McCombs was also known for his philanthropy. The University of Texas at Austin named its business school after him following a in 2000. The north end zone at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium and the school鈥檚 softball stadium are also named after McCombs. In 2005, McCombs and his foundation gave MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston $30 million. He also to The Texas Tribune.

鈥淔rom the business school that bears his name, to our athletics and student success programs, his entrepreneurial spirit, drive to win and commitment to excellence are reflected across the Forty Acres,鈥 UT president Jay Hartzell said in a statement.

McCombs was a donor to U.S. Sen. , R-Texas, during his , and after Cruz dropped out, he donated to Donald Trump. He was also formerly the of the board of Constellis, the holding group of the private military company formerly known as Blackwater.

鈥淩ed was a visionary entrepreneur who touched many lives and impacted our community in immeasurable ways,鈥 the McCombs family said in a statement. 鈥淏ut to us he was always, first and foremost, 鈥楧ad鈥 or 鈥楶oppop.鈥 We mourn the loss of a Texas icon.鈥