Former Bucks Owner, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl Dies at 88

Former Milwaukee Bucks owner and United States senator Herb Kohl has died at 88 years old.

Herb Kohl Philanthropies announced his death Wednesday following a short illness, per Frederic J. Frommer and Todd Richmond of the Associated Press.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver released a statement:

Kohl helped bring the Milwaukee Brewers to the city in 1970 and had several connections to the sports world.

The Democratic senator from Wisconsin—who won his seat in 1988 before he was reelected in 1994, 2000 and 2006—was the only member of the Senate to own a professional sports team.

He purchased the Bucks in 1985 for $18 million.

"The opportunity I was given to purchase and to keep the team here in Milwaukee is one of the most unique and fortunate experiences I've ever enjoyed," he once said.

He also donated $25 million to his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin. His donation, which was the largest private one in school history, helped construct the Kohl Center, where the basketball and hockey teams still play.

As an NBA owner, he was part of the group that asked former commissioner David Stern to institute revenue sharing in 2006.

As Amy Rabideau Silvers, Craig Gilbert and Bill Glauber of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel noted, he eventually sold the team to New York hedge-fund investors Marc Lasry and Wes Edens in 2014 for $550 million.

Yet he pledged $100 million to help build Fiserv Forum as a new home. What's more, part of the transaction with Edens and Lasry included the new owners vowing to keep the franchise in Milwaukee and donating $100 million as well to help construct Fiserv Forum.

Kohl was included in the Bucks' 2021 championship parade, received a ring and was greeted with a standing ovation from fans.