Entertainment
College Football Player Dead At 20; Tributes Pour In
University of West Florida football player Ben Conken has died at just 20 years old after a battle with cancer, prompting an outpouring of tributes from teammates, coaches and the community that watched him fight.
Conken died Monday, according to his obituary.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound linebacker signed with West Florida as part of the program’s 2024 recruiting class after a standout career at Cottage Hill Christian Academy in Mobile, Alabama.
He never got the chance to appear in a game for the Argonauts after his cancer diagnosis came shortly after he joined the program.
West Florida Athletics said Conken remained closely connected to the team throughout his treatment.
“Shortly after joining our program, he began a hard fought battle with cancer but continued to show his support for UWF,” West Florida Athletics said in a statement.
“He will forever remain a member of this team and an Argo for life.”
Conken had built an impressive athletic résumé before arriving at West Florida.
He competed in football, basketball and baseball at Cottage Hill, but football was where he made his biggest mark.
We are deeply saddened to share the loss of a fellow Argo, Ben Conken. Shortly after joining our program, he began a hard fought battle with cancer but continued to show his support for UWF. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those who knew and loved him. pic.twitter.com/b4GQXEfaTc
— UWF Athletics (@GoArgos) August 19, 2026
During his senior season, Conken recorded 85 tackles, 10 sacks and forced five fumbles while establishing himself as a disruptive defensive presence.
Cottage Hill head coach Carvel Jones remembered Conken as a “dawg on the football field” and said he would always remember his smile, even while the young athlete was dealing with cancer.
The school also mourned his death, saying “our hearts are broken by his passing.”
Conken’s obituary painted the picture of a fierce competitor who wanted to make the most of every opportunity he was given.
“Football was his favorite,” Conken’s obituary read, “and he dreamed of one day playing Division I. He earned the opportunity to live that dream as a scholarship defensive outside linebacker for the University of West Florida Argonauts. Ben was intensely competitive, but never at the expense of sportsmanship, fairness, and character.
“He lived by a mantra of ‘get up and do something.’ He was not content with a life of passive observation. Even when countless healthcare workers, support staff, and volunteers devoted themselves to his care, Ben was actively learning so that he could return that care tenfold to others. His heroes were those who saw a need, had the ability to meet it, and quietly answered the call without praise, recognition, or reward. He would absolutely hate to have to read all this about himself.”
His death has hit especially hard because Conken had only recently reached the goal he had worked toward for years, earning the opportunity to play college football before his illness interrupted that path.
Though he never took the field in a West Florida uniform, the program made clear that his place on the team was never defined by game appearances.
Conken leaves behind a legacy built around toughness, faith, character and the competitive spirit that carried him from high school sports to a college football roster.
