Mandatory Credit: Photo by Erik Williams/CSM/Shutterstock (9991262a) File – ROBERT C. MCNAIR (born , 1937 died November 23, 2018). was an American businessman, philanthropist, and the owner of the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). McNair ‘had dealt with skin cancer for several years.’ McNair, who moved to Houston in 1960, made his fortune in the energy business. According to Forbes, he sold his power generator company, Cogen Technologies, to Enron for $1.5 billion in 1999. Pictured: October 21, 2012 – Houston, Texas, U.S. – Houston Texans owner Bob McNair during the final minutes of the NFL football game between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens Bob McNair 1937-American NFL Team Owner, Houston, USA – 23 Nov 2018
Texans to honor founder Bob McNair Thursday
McNair was the founder and chairman of the Houston Texans until his passing in 2018.
Houston Texans head coach Lovie Smith opened his Wednesday media availability by announcing that the team would hold it’s 3rd annual Founder’s Day on Thursday, October 6:
“Tomorrow is a special day for our organization. As most of you know, October 6, 1999, the city of Houston and Bob and Janice McNair were awarded the 32nd franchise in the NFL. A special day for us. Where would we be without football down in Texas, especially in Houston. Of course, after Bob’s death in 2018, our organization wanted to find a way to honor his memory and his legacy of everything that he has done. The organization marked October 6 as Founder’s Day, for us to honor him and what he’s done again in football and in the community. For the third consecutive year, tomorrow we will be following up on that in honoring him and his legacy, which will be an exciting time. I know if he was here right now, he would probably be disappointed in where we are at the current time, but excited about where we’re going. Again, that’ll be a special time for us to honor him. Along with honoring him, our organization has wanted to do a little bit more and do something in the community on something that he was passionate about. He was very involved in the community. Tomorrow, on October 6, we’ll let you know exactly what that will be.”
The team is expected to announce their specific actions for Founder’s Day Thursday at 9am.
Bob McNair formed Houston NFL Holdings in 1998 in an effort to return NFL football to Houston. On October 6, 1999, the NFL announced that its 32nd franchise was being awarded to McNair.
McNair also played vital roles in bringing two Super Bowls to Houston, Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 and Super Bowl LI in 2017.
Bob McNair was a member of the Texas Business Hall of Fame. He also served on the Board of Trustees for many high-profile institutions, including Rice University, Houston Grand Opera, and the Baylor College of Medicine.
McNair was also a noted philanthropist. He founded the Robert and Janice McNair Educational Foundation in 1989 to help Rutherford County high school graduates overcome the financial obstacles that prevented them from attending college. The foundation has awarded close to $2.6M in aid.
The Robert and Janice McNair Foundation, established in 2015, provided to help universities across the country establish centers for entrepreneurship. These centers have been established at the University of South Carolina, Houston Baptist University, the University of St. Thomas, and Columbia College, among others. It also helped create a research center at Rice University’s Baker Institute.
Bob McNair passed away from cancer November 23, 2018.
