Clear Channel Communications (Now iHeartMedia) Founder Lowry Mays Dead at 87

COLLEGE STATION, TX (CelebrityAccess) – Lowry Mays, the founder of Clear Channel Communications (CCC) (now iHeartMedia), has died at age 87. Mays’ alma mater Texas A&M University announced his death following his significant contributions to the institution. The announcement did not reveal the cause of death.

“We are saddened to hear of Lowry Mays’ passing today,” says Texas A&M University President M. Katherine Banks. “He truly exemplified the Aggie core values. The Mays family has had a remarkable impact on the business school, providing countless opportunities for students and faculty and the university system through his 2-years (2003 – 2005) service on the Board of Regents. Aggies are proud to carry on his legacy of leadership and service.”

Mays was born on July 24, 1935, in TX. He attended Texas A&M University and earned his degree in petroleum engineering. Mays was a petroleum engineer and investment banker when he agreed to co-sign a note to purchase a San Antonio FM radio station in 1972 but ended up owning it outright, according to his biography on the Mays Family Foundation website.

Mays and his wife, Peggy, founded the Mays Family Foundation as a base for their philanthropy efforts. In 2017, the foundation gifted $25 million to Texas A&M’s business school, the largest single commitment in the business school’s history, according to the school’s website.

With that purchase, he founded the San Antonio Broadcasting Company in 1972, later known as CCC. In 1975, Mays teamed up with his business partner Red McCombs and grew their network by buying stations across the country.

CCC is now known as iHeartMedia and owns more than 860 radio stations and syndication networks that have carried shows such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. When the company was taken private, the Mays family sold its interest in CCC in 2008.

In 2010, the Texas A&M Foundation Board of Trustees honored L. Mays with its Sterling C. Evans Medal for his philanthropy to the university. As a result of the Mays’ service and generosity to the business school, the Peggy and Lowry Mays Impact Award was created and given to the couple in 2017. The award continues to be given in honor of those who impact the school through exemplary giving and firm leadership roles.

“We’re eternally grateful to Lowry and the entire Mays family for their generosity toward Mays Business School for many years,” adds Interim Dean of Mays Business School, Ricky Griffin. “We would not be where we are today without his and their support. My sincere condolences to the Mays family on Lowry’s passing.”

Texas Association of Broadcasters President Oscar Rodriguez shared the following note with Radio World: “Lowry Mays was a titan of the Texas business community and respected by admirers and adversaries alike for his business acumen and financial savvy.

“He left his mark across many great institutions within the Lone Star State and pioneered a transformation of the radio broadcasting industry whose ripples continue to be felt today. His civic and political contributions to Texas were innumerable and will long be felt and appreciated by all whose lives he touched.”

Lowry was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 61 years, Peggy Pitman Mays. He is survived by daughters Kathryn Mays Johnson, Linda Mays McCaul, and sons Mark Mays and Randall Mays, as well as 16 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

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