New Mines football scholarship established in Ben Cole’s memory

Family, friends donate $53,000 for endowment

BY CORINNE WESTEMAN CWESTEMAN@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

Ben Cole loved playing on the Colorado School of Mines football team. Even after he graduated, he returned to Marv Kay Stadium to cheer on his teammates during their 2022 season.

Now, his name and legacy will live on through a new Mines football scholarship.

e 23-year-old alumnus died April 12 in a car accident, and his family organized an online fundraiser to establish a scholarship in his memory. More than 200 friends, fellow Orediggers and other community members donated $53,000 toward the scholarship.

“ ank you so much to everyone who contributed,” Ben Cole’s dad, Jason, wrote on GoFundMe. “ … Some people gave a lot, and I know some people gave a lot for them, and we appreciate … all the support you’ve given us as we try to create a lasting legacy for Ben here in Colorado.” e Mines alumnus was from Louisville, Colorado, and played tight end, kicker and punter for Monarch High School. He was a two-time All-Northern Conference selection and earned ve combined letters between football and baseball. Cole was also a National Honor Society member and a four-year academic letter winner at Monarch.

Mines Athletics has con rmed the family is coordinating with the Colorado School of Mines Foundation to set up an endowment for a permanent scholarship, starting this coming school year.

While the paperwork is still being nalized, Athletic Director David Hansburg believed the scholarship is intended for a football player majoring in mechanical engineering, as Cole did.

At Mines, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering and was a tight end for the Orediggers. He also earned several academic honors during his college career.

After graduating in 2022, he moved to the Colorado Springs area and worked for Northrop Grumman.

On the GoFundMe page, the Coles described how their son loved sports and “his circle of friends stretched from Boston to Colorado.”

“Rather than mourning the possibilities that were lost … we’re choosing to celebrate the time that we had together: the 23 years of joy, energy, and adventure that Ben brought to life,” his family stated.

During Mines’ April 22 spring game, football players and sta honored Cole’s memory with special helmets bearing his initials and his jersey number, 84.

Hansburg, who knew Cole outside of Mines, said he was a happygo-lucky and free-spirited person who was friends with everybody.

Whether it was working at a summer camp, studying at Mines, or playing sports, Hansburg said that anything Cole did, “he did with his whole heart.”

Hansburg said Mines Athletics has other memorial scholarships either for student-athletes in general or for a speci c type of athlete. He was thankful Cole’s name and legacy will forever be intertwined with the team that meant so much to him.

“I think it’s an amazing tribute to someone who impacted so many people on campus and in the athletics department,” he said. “I think its particularly special it was spearheaded by his family and that this was the legacy they wanted him to have.”