Jon Prusmack, who was CEO of United World Sports and owned the USA Sevens World Series event, has died.

Prusmack, who is a member of the U.S. Rugby Hall of Fame and also lends his name to the Naval Academy rugby complex he helped fund, had cancer and had been involved in a clinical trial to beat the heretofore uncurable form of the disease.

A businessman who made his fortune after designing a quick-deploy tent still in widespread use by the military, Prusmack helped start Rugby Magazine, and also was present when the USA Rugby Football Union was formed in 1975. He played, refereed and coached, and in 2006 bought the rights for the USA Sevens from USA Rugby.

Prusmack sank tens of millions of dollars into the tournament, moving it from Los Angeles to San Diego, and then to Las Vegas, where it has become enormously successful (helped along by the USA team's success). Under Prusmack, United World Sports started the Collegiate Rugby Championship college sevens invitational, getting that event on national TV before USA Rugby had even created its own championship.

Those two tournaments loom large in the American rugby landscape as two of the most important. United World Sports also bought Rugby Magazine and later partnered with current FloRugby editor Alex Goff to run a rugby news site that is now named Rugby Today. 

A. Jon Prusmack is survived by his wife, Patricia.