Kappa Sigma social fraternities from both campuses and the Chi Omega social sorority from UK will run 72 miles from the Shelby campus of U of L to UK with the game ball for Saturday afternoon's match up.The run begins at 4 a.m. in Louisville and is expected to take 10 hours. Each runner will be running one mile along the route to prevent them from becoming tired and making the run longer, said Ward Harris, event chairman and former Kappa Sig.
The U of L members are running the game ball to the half-way point in Frankfort. Once the run reaches the Harrison General Store, UK runners will take over.
The UK runners will end the football run at the Hillary J. Boone Faculty Center.
They will hand the ball off to Bill Olsen, UL athletic director, and C.M. Newton, UK athletic director, during a tailgate party before the game at the Commonwealth Stadium kickoff tent.
During the run, participants will be escorted along the route in a caravan with law enforcement vehicles in front, the three vans carrying the runners in the middle, and Harris in another car in the back.
The run raises money for the disability resource centers at both universities.
"Pledge cards are distributed to people, and they pick which school the donation goes to and then we give the cards to the school and the school collects the money," Harris said. "Healthwise is our biggest donator. The money that they gave will be split between both schools."
Other corporate sponsors of the event are WKYT-TV, (Channel 27) Ashland Inc., UPS, Snapple, Gray Bookstore of Louisville, and Kennedy Book Store.
The run was started the year "Game One" was played between UK and UL by Harris and another Kappa Sig, Mike Bowling. Since then, Harris has learned that other universities with intrastate rivalries have started similar game-ball runs.