MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Tyler Trent was a huge Purdue fan. By the time he died yesterday, people across the country were even bigger fans of Tyler Trent.
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
Trent was a native of Carmel, Ind. He started his freshman year at Purdue in 2017. Like any superfan, he camped out in front of Purdue's stadium for tickets for a big game against Michigan.
KELLY: That caught the football team's attention, says Gregg Doyel, a sports columnist for The Indianapolis Star.
GREGG DOYEL: Purdue football - not very good last year, and he's camping out before a big game for tickets, and he's the only person there, just him and his buddy.
KELLY: And that school spirit convinced Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm to meet and take a picture with the team's number-one fan. What Brohm didn't know is Tyler Trent had just gone through a chemotherapy treatment.
CORNISH: Trent was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer when he was 15. He was in remission for a couple of years. But by the time he enrolled at Purdue, the disease had returned.
KELLY: The football team's coaching staff learned about Trent's cancer and reached out to him. Eventually they made him an honorary captain. That was just the start of a whirlwind year for Trent, says Tom Schott, senior associate athletics director for communications at Purdue.
TOM SCHOTT: This story just continued to grow. And it went from a Purdue football story to a Purdue athletics story to a Purdue University story to a college football story to a nationwide story.
CORNISH: Sports columnist Gregg Doyel says Tyler Trent's positive attitude in the face of death and his mission to raise cancer awareness really resonated with people, all kinds of people.
DOYEL: He broke down walls that you never thought would get broken down. He got a letter from Donald Trump. He got a phone call one time a few weeks before the Ohio State game. He didn't recognize the number, but he answered it. And the guy said, Tyler, hi. This is Mike. And Tyler said, Mike who (laughter)? And the voice on the phone said, Mike Pence.
KELLY: And Trent was inspirational on the field too. Last October, when he was incredibly ill, Purdue had a massive home game against Ohio State, then ranked number two in the nation. Somehow, Trent made it to West Lafayette in time to see his beloved Boilermakers pound OSU 49 to 20. And then, after the game, the honorary captain addressed his team.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TYLER TRENT: Thanks for leaving your heart out on the field and showing the nation what being a Boilermaker is.
(CHEERING)
CORNISH: Purdue's Tom Schott says their biggest fan will be honored this Thursday night at the men's basketball game against Iowa. Tyler Trent died Tuesday at the age of 20.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE BRIDGE TRIO'S "WARRIOR")