TEMPE, Ariz. — Unbreakable was more than a motto for Kurt Hester — it was how he lived. The 61-year-old Houston football strength and performance coach passed away Saturday morning, only hours before the Cougars’ 24-16 win over No. 24 Arizona State, following an eight-month battle with stage IV melanoma.
Hester’s fight began in February. He felt a pain in his chest while lifting in the training room, and X-rays revealed a broken rib, a mass on his lung and masses on his liver. He was given weeks to live but continued to be involved with the program.
“He stared death in the face, and he didn’t blink. He was truly unbreakable. He defined that word by living it. He lived that word, and he’s just such a man of faith,” senior tight end Tanner Koziol said. “I remember the things he was saying to us. Even as it got hard, he would just stare it in the face. Whatever’s in your face, you can take it down. You can choose every day to either let it beat you or get up and beat it, and he beat it every single day. It’s something I will carry for the rest of my life.”
The Cougars shared stories of Hester during their pregame meal, when coach Willie Fritz informed them of Hester’s death. Fritz reminded his players that Hester would want them to fight on the field until the final second, which they did to hold off Arizona State, who went on a fourth quarter surge.
“It hurt. It’s a bittersweet win, without question. Kurt Hester was an unbelievably important person in our football program,” Fritz said. “Best strength and conditioning coach I’ve ever been around, but more importantly, just a really, really fantastic role model for our student-athletes.”
Hester was hospitalized earlier this month due to an infection, forcing him to miss Houston’s game against Arizona on Oct. 18.
After being released Wednesday, he returned to UH to address the team one final time the next day.
“He knew it was the last time he was going to see the guys,” Fritz said. “He really delivered a heck of a message to them.”
That message is one his players will never forget.
“It’s really about what type of man you want to be when you’re faced with adversity,” Koziol said, reflecting on Hester’s final visit. “When things are going good or bad, people are going to look at you. Are you going to be the guy who steps up, or are you not going to?”
Hester, in his second season at Houston, stepped up even when faced with a fight against death, calling his time with the team his therapy.
Just weeks before his death, Hester reflected on that fight in an interview with ESPN: “Death is undefeated, but I’ll take it to three overtimes,” he said. “That’s strength.”
His words will continue to drive the Cougars forward.
“He always tells us to keep climbing, keep going, keep moving forward no matter what situation is going on,” senior defensive lineman Eddie Walls III said.
After their win, junior defensive back Kentrell Webb took to Instagram Live, and the team closed it out by saying, “For Kurt.”
“We had a little help tonight. We had a little extra juice tonight,” Fritz added.
The team found their strength before taking the field and rallied together, united as a family in honor of Hester.
“The whole game was for him. It was very hard on the team. We are all so close together, like a family, and Coach Hester meant so much to us,” junior quarterback Conner Weigman said. “We know he was looking over us tonight, and I couldn’t be more proud of our guys. We love Coach Hester and his family, and we will be praying for every one of them.”
Throughout his fight, the Houston players and staff wore Unbreakable merchandise to honor Hester and carry his message throughout the program. The shirts served as a reminder of his perseverance and the lessons he instilled in them every day.
Even in death, Hester’s motto remains ingrained in the hearts of a team still climbing.
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