Houston football was playing for a bigger purpose in its win over Arizona State on Oct. 25.
Cougars strength and conditioning coach Kurt Hester died on Oct. 25, just a few hours before Houston’s 24-16 win over No. 25 Arizona State. Hester was battling Stage IV melanoma, a fight that was featured on ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’ earlier this season.
Hester was diagnosed with melanoma in February, and was given four to six weeks to live, according to the announcement. His cancer was receding before he was hospitalized ahead of Houston’s game against Arizona on Oct. 18 with an infection.
Coach Willie Fritz honored Hester after the win.
‘It’s a bittersweet win, without question,’ Fritz told reporters after the game. ‘Kurt Hester was an unbelievably important person in our football program. I’ve been with him for a while. He’s the best strength and conditioning coach I’ve ever been around, but more importantly, just a fantastic role model for our student-athletes.’
Hester was in his second season with the program after following Fritz to Houston from Tulane, where he worked from 2022-23. He was nominated for the 2025 Capital One Orange Bowl FWAA Courage Award on Oct. 22.
‘He (has) just been such a light in such a dark time in his life,’ Houston star tight end Tanner Koziol said after the game. ‘It just goes to show the impact that someone can have on hundreds of people, thousands of people. He stared death in the face and he didn’t blink. He was truly unbreakable. He defined that word by living it.’
Koziol said Hester spoke to the team for the last time on Oct. 23, and shared Hester’s message postgame.
‘It was really, ‘what type of man do you want to be?’ when you’re faced with adversity, especially,’ Koziol said. ‘When things are going good, when things are going bad, people are going to look at you, and they’re going to want you to step up. And are you going to be the guy that steps up, or are you not going to? He was just unbelievable. … Him not speaking but showing up everyday said enough.’
Hester was clearly not only an important figure to those in the Houston program, but also in college football, as strength coaches and others were inspired by his story, as evident by the outpouring of support on social media.
‘Kurt showed his unbreakable spirit every day,’ Fritz said. ‘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.’