David Lupo did not need a Texas A&M diploma to feel like an Aggie. The 12-year-old had an attachment to the program that went far beyond watching games. Maroon and white had become part of his life while he fought an aggressive brain cancer. He followed the football team, met the players, and eventually got to be part of the world he loved. He has left the world after achieving his biggest dream of becoming a die-hard Aggie. And QB Marcel Reed sent tributes after his passing.

“A week ago, one of our dear friends, David, passed away,” Marcel Reed wrote on his X account on August 7. “It brings me so much joy knowing he was here long enough to wear his 12th Man jersey with us. And watch this year’s spring game, where he got to see the cleats we made in honor of him and the Archer Foundation. He truly is one of us.”

“The world will miss his smile, his sincerity, and the light he brought to everyone around him. Aggie Football and I are praying for his family during this incredibly difficult time, and we promise to live strong for him, just like David lived strong for all of us.”

David was born to Courtney and Terrence Lupo and became a big brother to Rose. Away from football, he loved soccer, video games, Pokémon cards, and musicals. He also loved math and took an advanced class at school. The Archer Foundation described him as fiercely competitive but unusually kind. Two months before his diagnosis, his school honored him with its Hope Award for a child who kept trying and never gave up.

His cancer story began with what looked like a serious headache. David came home from school with a severe headache, vomiting, sensitivity to light, and trouble walking without losing his balance. His mother, Courtney, initially thought it could be a migraine because she also suffered from migraines. She took him to an emergency room the next day. Doctors initially thought the symptoms sounded like a migraine, too, but they ordered a CT scan. The scan changed everything.

David was quickly transferred to Children’s Hospital Colorado, where specialists treated him for DIPG, or diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma. His treatment included a special form of radiation that required the family to travel more than an hour and 15 minutes each way, every day, for six weeks. His family relied heavily on friends, community members, and organizations during that exhausting period. There were still bright spots during the fight.

David became an honorary team captain in his community, participated in a football coin toss, and threw out the first pitch at a softball game. His school community also held a special yellow-out sports night and other events to raise awareness of childhood cancer. Those moments gave him something beyond hospital visits and treatment schedules. They allowed him to remain a kid while people around him showed him that his fight mattered.

Texas A&M eventually became one of those bright spots. On February 23, David traveled to College Station with his family for a special Aggie football experience arranged through the Archer Foundation and supported by Walker Engineering. He met Texas A&M QB1 Marcel Reed and defensive back Dezz Ricks, toured the football facilities, and spent time around the team. The Archer Foundation said David laughed, explored, and even worked out with the players. It was designed as a lasting memory for a child fighting DIPG.

David Lupo had immense support from Texas A&M and Marcel Reed

The visit mattered because David was not simply being given a tour. He was being welcomed into a football program he loved. Texas A&M players and coaches made him feel like part of the team, while Walker Engineering helped provide the travel, accommodations, and other details for the family. The Archer Foundation said the experience gave the Lupo family a day they could hold onto forever. Reed’s connection with David also continued after that visit.

“Our hearts are with David’s family, friends, and everyone whose life he touched,” Texas A&M said in a statement. “David will always be part of the Aggie family.”

Reed later carried David’s story onto the field. During Texas A&M’s 2026 Maroon & White Game, Reed wore specialty cleats representing the Archer Foundation as part of the Aggies for a Cause initiative. The program had selected athletes to represent causes important to them, and Reed chose the foundation that had supported David and other families facing DIPG. David was there to see the spring game and the cleats created in his honor.

For Texas A&M, David’s story now sits beside the photographs, memories, and moments created during his short time around the program. He got his 12th Man jersey. He watched the spring game. He saw Reed’s tribute cleats. He met players he had followed from afar and spent a day inside the football facilities.