Sonny Cumbie took a detour during his opening statement Tuesday ahead of Louisiana Tech’s 100th Homecoming game against Sam Houston.
The fourth-year head coach of the Bulldogs usually spends the first five minutes of his game-week press conference breaking down Xs and Os from the previous week, but Tuesday, Cumbie dropped the coach speak and paid tribute to the impact of former Tech strength and conditioning coach Kurt Hester, who passed away Saturday after a nine-month battle with cancer.
Hester, who died at the age of 61 after battling Stage IV melanoma, served as Tech’s strength and conditioning coach from 2013-21, helping guide the Bulldogs to seven straight bowl appearances under Skip Holtz.
“We still have players that played under him, and coaches that coach for us that were able to train under his guidance. You just saw the impact Kurt had on the strength and conditioning world, yes, but also in people and coaches and the impact he had,” Cumbie said Tuesday. “I would like to take a minute to appreciate him for what he’s done to this program and the impact he had on people’s lives. Thinking about his family during this time. Just an incredible fighter. His teams were very tough and physical, much like he trained them to be. Had a great run here at Louisiana Tech.”
Hester worked for the University of Houston at the time of his passing. Houston head coach Willie Fritz praised Hester in an official release from the school announcing his death.
“Kurt showed his unbreakable spirit every day,” Fritz said. “He had a tremendously positive influence on every single person in our our program and on this program as a whole.”
