Career
Before playing professional football, Conn played college football at Oregon Agricultural College (now called University). In 1916, under coach East. J. Stewart, Conn ran for a record 103 yard touchdown off of a fumble recovery. Conn left the Aggies after his freshman year and transferred to Pennsylvania
During, Conn was stationed at Camp Crane in Allentown, Pennsylvania to train as part of the United States. Army Ambulance Corps (United States Army Air Corps) before deploying to France.
While in Pennsylvania, he played on the "Usaacs" football team with future notable professional players Brooke Brewer and Carl Beck. Conn was also the coach of the 1920 football squad at John Carroll University.
During his one season with the college, the team compiled a 4–2 record.