University of Houston
The University of Houston plans to wear black uniforms on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in honor of strength coach Kurt Hester, who died Oct. 25 at age 61.
The University of Houston football team will wear black uniforms during Saturday’s home game against West Virginia to honor the program’s strength coach, who died of skin cancer last weekend.
Kurt Hester, 61, died Saturday after a battle with stage IV melanoma, according to the UH athletic department. He had served as the Cougars’ director of strength and performance since 2024, following UH head coach Willie Fritz from Tulane, Hester’s alma mater.
“Kurt showed his unbreakable spirit every day,” Fritz said in a statement from the university. “He had a tremendously positive influence on every single person in our program and on this program as a whole.”
University of Houston
Kurt Hester
Hester was hospitalized with an infection ahead of UH’s game Saturday at Arizona State. He died before the Cougars scored a 24-16 upset of the 24th-ranked Sun Devils, which vaulted the program into The Associated Press Top 25 poll for the first time since 2022.
No. 22 UH had planned to wear black uniforms during its Nov. 22 home game against TCU, but will now wear black during Saturday’s 11 a.m. game against West Virginia, which will be televised on FS1. Hester’s favorite color was black, according to the team.
The Cougars also will have “#Unbreakable” – Hester’s slogan since his cancer diagnosis in February – brandished on their helmets and incorporated into the painting on their home field. The word will also be spelled out by the UH band during its halftime performance.
Other plans to honor Hester are “actively being developed,” UH said in a Monday news release.
Hester is survived by his wife, Seana, and children Sydney, Rieleah and Remy.
“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,” Fritz said. “Kurt had his family, faith and football and that’s what he cared about.”
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