ATLANTA — In the days before his death, Tony Brown's focus was set on helping others.
Brown, a longtime NBA referee and a Clark Atlanta University (CAU) alum, died Thursday after a battle with stage four pancreatic cancer, his family announced. He was 55.
Brown's family worked to fund The Tony Brown Basketball Program Scholarship Endowment, a scholarship for Clark Atlanta basketball players, CAU basketball coach Alfred Jordan said.
"Those funds will actually be used to help our student-athletes be able to attend summer school and for them to be able to graduate on time," Jordan said.
As listed on the donation page, the goal was to raise $100,000 for a basketball scholarship endowment at Brown's alma mater.
As of Tuesday evening, the donation page showed that the $100,000 goal had been surpassed and that $112,654 had been raised.
The original goal was met in about 30 days, a CAU spokesperson said.
The endowment will give athletes at CAU more opportunities, Jordan added.
He explains that the money will help athletes graduate on time and hopefully give them an early start in getting their master's degree, while they're enrolled at the university.
CAU's basketball team will honor Brown by having a patch with his jersey number six added to their uniforms.
"You know, we want to do things to make sure that his memory, a legacy, is continuing here at the university," Jordan said.
According to the NBA, Brown's career spanned 20 seasons, with 1,110 regular-season games officiated and 35 playoff games.
The longtime NBA referee graduated from CAU in 1989, when it was known as Clark College, the university reports.
At CAU, Brown will always be remembered, Jordan said.
"We definitely want to send our condolences out to his wife, Tina, and children. And we want them to know that here at CAU, that they'll forever be a part of our family. If they need anything, we're here; we're open and helping them. We want to keep Tony Brown's legacy going from here until the end of time," Jordan said.
To view CAU's donation page, click here.