Houston Cougars Pay Homage to Late Coach Kurt Hester in Unique Way
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Houston Cougars football director of strength and performance Kurt Hester was diagnosed with stage IV Melanoma in early February.
The morning of Houston’s impressive 24-16 victory over the No. 24 Arizona State Sun Devils, Hester unfortunately passed away after his eight-month battle with cancer. The team quickly announced that the Cougars’ game against the West Virginia Mountaineers would be a blackout game in honor of Hester’s favorite color.
While Houston had previously announced its intention to honor Hester with a blackout game, it revealed that the back of the Cougars’ helmets will read “#Unbreakable” in his handwriting via a post on the team’s X account.
Back in black ⚫️ pic.twitter.com/HVRNHEKSjT
— Houston Football (@UHCougarFB) October 31, 2025
“Death is undefeated, but I’ll take it to three overtimes. That’s strength. There’s nothing that you can throw at me that is going to make me stop. I’m unbreakable.”Kurt Hester
Kurt Hester’s ‘#Unbreakable’ Story
Back in January, Hester was lifting weights in Houston’s training facility when he broke a rib. Upon getting an X-ray, it was revealed that he had a mass in his lungs and a few on his liver. It turns out that he had stage IV melanoma, a skin cancer that had spread to his lungs and liver.
Hester passed around 10 in the morning on the day of Houston’s massive victory over the Sun Devils, and the team dedicated the victory to him.
“Kurt showed his unbreakable spirit every day,” Houston head coach Willie Fritz said following the game. “He had a tremendously positive influence on every single person in our program and on this program as a whole. Kurt was fortunate enough to love what he did for a living and had an unbelievable impact on so many people across so many programs. Kurt had his family, faith and football and that’s what he cared about.”
Coming to practice and coaching the Coogs was considered a major part of Hester’s recovery and he said it was a form of therapy for him. Since his January diagnosis, his tumors had been receding.
“He stared death in the face and didn’t blink,” Cougars tight end Tanner Koziol said. “He was truly unbreakable. He defined that word by living it. He’s such a man of faith.”
Watching Hester fight his personal battles while continuing to fight for his team was something that was a huge inspiration for Houston players.
“What are you going to see that he’s not going through right now?” defensive lineman Xavier Stillman said in a segment of ESPN’s College GameDay that was dedicated to Hester’s story. “He’s wheezing coming up the stairs. So it’s like, why are you taking the elevator? What excuse do you have now?”
Wearing Hester’s favorite color, the Cougars get to show that they are #Unbreakable as they seek another victory Saturday. Kickoff against the Mountaineers is scheduled for Saturday at 11am.
