Purdue Superfan Tyler Trent Dies of Bone Cancer at 20

Tyler Trent, the Purdue Boilermakers fan with bone cancer who inspired college football fans across the country, died Tuesday, his family confirmed to the Indianapolis Star's Dana Hunsinger Benbow.

Trent had bone cancer osteosarcoma.

The Purdue Cancer Center tweeted Trent's legacy will live on in the future:

The 20-year-old was an honorary captain for Purdue when the Boilermakers played the Auburn Tigers in the Music City Bowl. He also received the Disney Spirit Award in December during ESPN's College Football Awards Show.

Trent's journey grew to a national scale when ESPN's Tom Rinaldi profiled him for the Oct. 20 edition of College GameDay.

Hours after that segment aired, Purdue upset the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 49-20 in West Lafayette, Indiana. Trent watched the game live from a suite at Ross-Ade Stadium.

"What gave him a sense of love and purpose touched all of us and inspired all of us," Boilermakers head coach Jeff Brohm said of Trent, per Benbow. "There was no quit in him. There was a lot of fight in him. It's like you couldn't get him down. While I'm sure he was in pain and suffering, he put a smile on his face."

Trent helped raise over $101,000 during the Riley Dance Marathon, a Purdue student-run event that supports the Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health in Indianapolis. He had also donated his blood and tumor tissue for research purposes.

Prior to his death, Trent announced he was working on an autobiography, The Upset, with money from the book's sales going to cancer research. He set his fundraising goal at $1 million.