A college football program is mourning the loss of one of its own after University of West Florida linebacker Ben Conken died at just 20 years old.

Conken died Sunday, August 17, following a battle with cancer. He had joined the Argonauts as part of their 2024 recruiting class, but the illness arrived shortly after he entered the program and kept him from ever appearing in a game.

That did not make him any less a member of the team.

UWF Athletics announced the devastating news Wednesday, saying Conken continued supporting the school throughout his treatment and would remain an Argo for life.

Head coach Kaleb Nobles remembered Conken as a young man whose influence reached far beyond the time he was able to spend on the roster. His tribute captured why this loss has landed so heavily across the program.

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Conken came to West Florida from Cottage Hill Christian Academy in Mobile, Alabama, where he built a reputation as a hard-nosed, multi-sport competitor.

The University of West Florida Athletics signing-day profile listed him at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. During his senior football season, he recorded 85 tackles, 10 sacks and five forced fumbles, earning a place on the Mobile Press-Register All-Coastal High School team.

He also played baseball for Cottage Hill, while his family said basketball was part of his athletic life as well. Football remained the dream that drove him most.

In January 2024, Conken celebrated the moment that dream became real. He announced that he had committed to the University of West Florida, thanking the coaches and mentors who helped him reach the college level.

What followed was a fight no 20-year-old should have to face.

According to the Mobile Memorial Gardens Funeral Home obituary, Conken met that fight with the same discipline and determination he brought to sports. His family remembered a young man grounded in faith, family and friendship, with a quiet kindness that never disappeared behind his competitive fire.

His obituary says Conken believed the real victory was built through years of small, deliberate choices. Even while receiving care, he was learning from the people helping him and thinking about how he could one day return that service to others.

That instinct showed at Camp Smile, where he influenced campers and counselors through patience, consistency and action. His personal mantra was simple: get up and do something.

Conken is survived by his parents, Christopher and Christine; his siblings, Will and Molly; and his grandparents.

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Visitation and funeral services were scheduled for Saturday, August 22, at Cottage Hill Baptist Church in Mobile. His family asked that, instead of sending flowers, people consider supporting Pilots for Christ, Camp Smile or the University of South Alabama’s Bridge Program.

Ben Conken never got the chance to take the field for West Florida. But the tributes pouring in make one thing unmistakably clear: his place on that team was never measured by snaps, tackles or Saturdays.

It was measured by the people he touched — and by the courage with which he kept showing up.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.

 

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