Mafrige served in the U.S. Army, remaining in the Army Reserves for 14 years and achieving the rank of Major before retiring. In 1968, he formed what would become Ron Mafrige Enterprises, Inc., which has leased over one million commercial square feet of office space in and around Houston.

He was honored by his alma mater as a Distinguished Alumnus (1997), Service Award recipient (2004), and named to the College of Business Administration Hall of Honor (2006).

In 1997, the Smith-Hutson Business Administration Building auditorium was named in honor of Mafrige in recognition of his 1994 endowment honoring Glenn Adams, the late president of Ron Mafrige Enterprises. In 2005, Mafrige gave $250,000 to make possible construction of the 11,000 square foot Randleman Strength and Fitness Building. The following year, the field house adjacent to Bowers Stadium was named in his honor.

In addition to purchasing many of the granite benches seen across campus, in 2008, Mafrige donated $40,000 to build the 20-foot-tall statute of General Sam Houston that stands in central campus. It honors both M.B. Etheredge (the country’s highest decorated surviving soldier of World War II) and the statue’s sculptor, David Adickes.

Most recently, Mafrige led SHSU’s first capital campaign and its Executive Leadership Council. The fundraising effort generated commitments in excess of $61 million, surpassing the $50 Million goal and was achieved nearly a year ahead of schedule.