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Purdue student walking 100 miles to IU’s Assembly Hall before rivalry game to raise money for Tyler Trent
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A Purdue University student is taking it upon himself to take advantage of Tuesday’s rivalry game between the Boilermakers and Indiana to raise money for a great cause.
Sunday morning, Purdue junior Aaron Lai left the Delta Chi fraternity house to begin his 100-mile journey from West Lafayette to Bloomington in an attempt to raise $10,000 for Tyler Trent’s cancer research fund.
He’s expecting to arrive at Assembly Hall on Tuesday afternoon before Purdue and Indiana clash on the hardwood in Bloomington. He’ll make two overnight stops along his journey. According to WLFI’s Trevor Peters, Lai has already raised $6,400 of his $10,000 goal.
With a belly full of oatmeal and several layers of clothes, he’s off! @alai2016 just began his 100 mile walk from WL to Bloomington for @theTylerTrent. He will arrive Tuesday afternoon for @BoilerBall vs @IndianaMBB. Special report Tuesday on @WLFI. #TylerStrong #NeverGiveUpT2 pic.twitter.com/4VWssqec4b
— Trevor Peters (@TrevorPeters__) February 17, 2019
Lai’s brothers from the Delta Chi house are checking in on him every few hours to supply him with food, water, dry shoes and other possible necessities. Per WLFI, Lai did not know Trent, but he reminded him of his grandfather, who battled lung cancer.
Reinforcements have arrived! Brothers from @DeltaChiPurdue are rotating to meet @alai2016 every few hours with water, food and dry shoes. Four hours in and he’s already to Romney. Give him a honk or a wave if you’re driving US 231! @WLFI pic.twitter.com/7hlLlOhLJo
— Trevor Peters (@TrevorPeters__) February 17, 2019
Lai set up a GoFundMe account to help raise money for the cause. Trent, who has a Purdue graduate, team captain and superfan, passed away in January after a long, courageous battle with cancer.
Purdue and Indiana are scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN 2.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB