Jeff Webb, who built Varsity Spirit into a cheerleading empire, has died at 76. Through his company, founded in 1974, he transformed cheerleading from a sideline activity into a multibillion-dollar industry that dominates competitions, camps, and equipment sales. Varsity Spirit confirmed his death Friday but did not cite a cause.

Webb revolutionized the sport by creating the camps where teams learned routines, the competitions where they performed, and the governing bodies that set the rules. By 2004, Varsity Spirit controlled 90 percent of the market in outfitting the nation's estimated 3.5 million cheerleaders and generated over $150 million in annual revenue. His innovations included bringing acrobatics and athleticism to routines and creating the All Star category in the mid-1980s.

Despite his success, Webb faced criticism for maintaining control by classifying cheerleading as an 'athletic activity' rather than a sport, which allowed Varsity to bypass Title IX regulations and NCAA oversight. The company was sold for $1.5 billion in 2014. In recent years, Webb focused on making cheerleading an Olympic sport, which received provisional recognition from the International Olympic Committee in 2016. His legacy includes both the industry's explosive growth and ongoing antitrust lawsuits against Varsity Spirit.