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Ben Christman, a student member of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas football program, was found dead on Feb. 11, according to UNLV officials. He was 21.
In Memoriam: Fallen Stars of 2024
The University of Nevada community is mourning the loss of a student athlete.
Ben Christman, a member of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas football program, was found dead in an off-campus apartment on Feb. 11, according to the university. He was 21.
While college officials have notified both Christman’s family and teammates, they noted in a Feb. 12 statement to their website, “We don't have further details at this time.”
The athlete’s cause of death has not been revealed, the Clark County Coroner's Office confirmed to E! News.
In response to Christman’s passing, members of the UNLV community shared the grief they are feeling.
"Our team's heart is broken to hear of Ben's passing,” the football team’s head coach Dan Mullen shared in the Feb. 12 statement. “Since the day Ben set foot on our campus a month ago, he made the Rebels a better program. Ben was an easy choice for our Leadership Committee as he had earned the immediate respect, admiration and friendship of all his teammates. Our prayers go out to his family and all who knew him. Ben made the world a better place and he will be missed."
University president Keith E. Whitfield also shared in the statement that he is “incredibly saddened,” adding, “There is little that can be said to lessen the pain of suddenly losing a member of our university family at such a young age, and my heart breaks for all who knew and loved him. On behalf of UNLV, our sincere condolences are with Ben's family, friends, loved ones, and teammates during this very difficult time."
Ben Jackson/Getty Images
After graduating high school in Ohio, Christman began his college football career at Ohio State in 2021, where he stayed for two seasons before transferring to the University of Kentucky for the 2023 season. Though he didn’t play his first season at Kentucky due to an ACL injury, he appeared in all 12 games of the 2024 season before transferring to UNLV, according to the Associated Press.
“I'm in it for the glory, not the honor mention,” he wrote in a 2023 Instagram post, quoting Drake’s “Lose You” about his football career. “Not tryna be 4th and inches, I'm tryna go the distance.”
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