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University of Texas Rio Grande Valley men's basketball coach Lew Hill died Sunday, the school announced. 

Hill, 55, reportedly perished in his sleep and just hours removed from coaching the Vaqueros in a 77-75 road loss against Texas Southern. His cause of death was not announced. Hill was in the midst of his fifth season coaching UTRGV, a WAC school that holds an 8-4 record this season. He guided the Vaqueros to a 20-win season two years ago.  

The team's next two games are scheduled for this Friday and Saturday at Cal Baptist, but the status of those two games are undecided. 

"Words cannot describe how any of us feel right now," UTRGV athletic director Chasse Conque said. "Everyone in our department is devastated by this news. Coach Hill was an incredible human being. He was my close friend and a trusted colleague. He cared deeply about those around him, from his family, to his players, to his staff and really, everyone in the department and at UTRGV. We offer our deepest condolences to Renee and Coach Hill's entire family during this unimaginable time."

Hill's death comes at a time when the program was cresting under his leadership. The Vaqueros were 16-6 in their previous 22 games. Hill went 67-77 at UTRGV in nearly five seasons on the bench. Hill was named head coach of the program shortly after helping Oklahoma reach the Final Four in 2017, where he served on Lon Kruger's staff. His humanitarianism and penchant for giving back to the community became widely known characteristics around Edinburg, Texas, where UTRGV's campus is based.

"Hill was known for buying large amounts of breakfast tacos and walking to faculty staff offices around campus to deliver breakfast and thank his fellow UTRGV employees for their hard work and dedication," a school statement on his death reads. "When UTRGV Athletics started a weekly story time series this past spring, Hill was the first employee to sign up, reading 'The Dinosaur Who Lived in My Back Yard' with his daughter, Elle."

Coaches around college basketball posted their condolences, shock and grief over the shocking news of Hill's death, which became public just as Super Bowl LV kicked off on Sunday. 

Hill's college playing days included being named a junior college All-American at San Jacinto Junior College, where he won a national title, before transferring to Wichita State and playing for the Shockers in the 1988 NCAA Tournament. Hill's coaching path took him from South Alabama to Southeast Missouri State to East Carolina to Texas A&M to UNLV and Oklahoma before landing his first full-time head coaching job with UTRGV.

The school will soon name an interim head coach, it said, in addition to determining on when it will play its next game. Hill is survived by his wife, Renee, along with their son and daughter, and three other daughters.

Hill is the second active Division I men's basketball coach to die in the past three months. Tennessee-Martin coach Anthony Stewart died suddenly in his sleep on Nov. 15, 10 days before the season began.