Tom Hicks, the Texas businessman and philanthropist who owned two Dallas-area professional sports franchises and an English Premier League soccer team, died Saturday. He was 79.

Spokesperson Lisa LeMaster said in statement that Hicks died peacefully in Dallas surrounded by family.

Hicks owned the NHL’s Dallas Stars from 1995–2011, winning the Stanley Cup in 1999. He also owned baseball’s Texas Rangers from 1998–2010, leading them to three American West Division titles and a World Series appearance. In 2007, he acquired a 50% stake in Liverpool.

“Being shoulder to shoulder with him was always about more than ballparks and stadiums, though,” Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said in a statement. “It was about personal respect, trust and friendship. We shared a lot of miles together, and I’ll miss him greatly. My heart goes out to his family.”

Hicks co-founded Hicks & Haas in 1984 and Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst in 1989, helping reshape private equity and investing strategy.

“Tom Hicks was an innovative businessman and a pioneer in private equity,” fellow Texas businessman Ross Perot Jr. said in a statement. “He combined his commitment to business and sports through his ownership of the Stars and the Rangers.”

Hicks served as paratrooper in the Army Reserves and was Commissioner of the American Battle Monuments Commission. He served on the University of Texas’s Board of Regents from 1994 to 1999.

Hicks is survived by his wife of 35 years, Cinda Cree Hicks, and his six children — Thomas Ollis Hicks Jr., Mack Hardin Hicks, John Alexander Hicks, Robert Bradley Hicks, William Cree Hicks and Catherine Forgrave Hicks.

His children released a joint statement, saying:

“Of everything he accomplished in his remarkable life, Tom Hicks’s most cherished title was, ‘Dad.’ No matter the trials and tribulations he faced in life, he was constant in his generosity and love for his family. He remains a guiding force for our family, and we are deeply honored to continue expanding his legacy. Although we are devastated by this loss, we are profoundly grateful to have been his children.”

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Saturday’s conference championship slate has left the very slim possibility open for the Texas Longhorns to slide into the College Football Playoff.

The Big 12 and Southeastern Conference championship games are now complete, with the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Georgia Bulldogs expected to clinch byes and rest ahead of their playoff games.

At 9-3, Texas is on the outside looking in, and seems more than likely to stay there. But, here is what those two results may mean for a Longhorn team that still has a chance to earn the favorability of the CFP committee:

BYU falls to Texas Tech

Entering Saturday, the BYU Cougars’ sole loss of the season had come to Texas Tech in Lubbock. The Cougars suffered a beatdown at the hands of the Red Raiders on Nov. 8, failing to score until over halfway through the fourth quarter.

In the Big 12 Championship game, it was a very similar story. BYU entered AT&T Stadium controlling their own destiny, with “win and in” expectations on the line. The Cougars got on the board first behind a 14-play, 90-yard drive in the first quarter. But after that, they were held silent.

Texas Tech scored 34 unanswered points and forced four turnovers off the BYU offense to emerge with an emphatic victory. For BYU, this likely means that its postseason chances have run their course. Against the only playoff-caliber opponent it has faced this season, BYU fell in lopsided fashion not once, but twice.

The question remains, “How much does the conference championship slate impact the playoff seeding?” Still, for a Cougars team that was on the bubble before Saturday, its second loss to the Red Raiders means other teams awaiting their playoff fate seem to have the upper hand.

Alabama falls to Georgia

With the Alabama Crimson Tide’s 28-7 loss to the Bulldogs, there is a conversation to be had about who should be the fifth SEC team in the playoff. Georgia, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Oklahoma are locked into spots.

Alabama now sits with the same amount of losses as Texas. Does that change anything for the committee? Again, can Alabama be penalized — meaning lose its place in the playoff — due to a conference championship loss?

The Crimson Tide’s top win on its resume entering Saturday was over Georgia. After the SEC Championship defeat, Alabama has fallen to the Bulldogs and Oklahoma. The season-opening loss to Florida State continues to stand out even more.

If Alabama is to be removed, the committee may see Texas as a worthy replacement, considering its victories over three top 10 teams. Miami and Notre Dame currently sit above Texas in the CFP rankings. The committee will likely look at all three of the Longhorns, Hurricanes and Fighting Irish in comparison to the Crimson Tide after the Bulldogs reversed the course of the previous matchup.

The games that remain

The Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conference Championships are about to get underway.

Texas still holds the closest margin of defeat to the undefeated Ohio State Buckeyes from the season-opening meeting in Columbus. If the Buckeyes run away with the Big Ten Championship, does that do anything for the Longhorns’ chances? If Duke beats Virginia, meaning that the ACC champion may not get into the field, does that cause the committee to view Miami differently?

Following Saturday night’s results, the committee has a lot to take into account and make what seem like impossible decisions between various qualified teams. Yet, one truth holds: the Longhorns may, somehow, still have a slim chance.