Purdue Superfan And Ultimate Inspiration Tyler Trent Has Lost His Battle With Cancer

There aren’t many things most people in the world have the same opinion about but I’d argue “Fuck cancer” is probably one of the rare things everyone can agree on.

Every year, close to 600,000 people in the United States succumb to cancer and virtually everyone has been impacted by the disease in some way— even if you’ve never personally known someone who’s battled it.

Earlier this year, ESPN‘s Tom Rinaldi continued his mission to make the world cry with inspirational stories when he highlighted the case of Tyler Trent, a former Purdue student who was forced to withdraw from the university this fall after being diagnosed with terminal bone cancer.

Trent had battled cancer for a number of years before going back into remission and being placed in hospice care a few months ago. However, he remained a die-hard Boilermakers supporter to the very end.

In October, he made the trek to a suite in Ross-Ade Stadium when his team pulled off the upset of the year after trouncing the (at the time) No. 2 Ohio State in October and was invited into the locker room after the game to speak to the team.

Trent also served as the honorary captain at this year’s Music City Bowl on December 28th, which would turn out to be the final Purdue game he’d attend after his family announced he’d passed away on Tuesday.

Trent’s doctor Jamie Renbarger issued a statement following his passing, saying:

“His passion for life, his passion for Purdue football, his passion to do whatever he could, even in the midst of this crazy, horrible journey that he was on.

“He still wanted to help people. He was just a really genuine human being.”

People around the world of sports also took a moment to pay tribute— including Scott Van Pelt, who had an empty seat in his honor on the set of SportsCenter after hearing the news.

He was far from the only person to remember his legacy.

Boiler up.