Phi Gamma Delta’s first year is off to a running start.

The fraternity, called Fiji, will host its first philanthropy, the Rivalry Run, on Friday and Saturday.

The Fijis have teamed up with Pi Kappa Phi fraternity members at Middle Tennessee State University to raise money for the American Red Cross of South Central Kentucky.

The Fijis will start their run at noon on Friday from Houchens-Smith Stadium after football Head Coach David Elson hands them the game ball, Fiji philanthropy chair Jake Ryle said.

Participants will run the ball, which will be used in the football game against MTSU, to the Pi Kapps’ fraternity house, he said.

On Saturday, the Fijis and the Pi Kapps will run the game ball one mile to Floyd Stadium, where the Western and MTSU football teams will face off, Ryle said.

He said there will always be one person running during the trip while the others rest in vans.

The run will take about 17 hours, he said.

At the start of the game, one Fiji member and one member of the Pi Kapps will present the ball to officials.

Ryle said he got the idea for the Rivalry Run from watching videos of other Fiji chapters’ runs.

He decided to call it the Rivalry Run because MTSU was the first team Western beat as a Football Bowl Subdivision team.

About 35 Fiji members will participate along with about eight Pi Kapps, Ryle said.

Each participant in the run was asked to raise $100 for the Red Cross, Ryle said.

Jennifer Capps, executive director of the American Red Cross of South Central Kentucky, said Ryle contacted her about the event in early August.

She said she thinks the run is a great idea and a unique way to raise money.

Ryle said participants asked corporate sponsors in the community to donate.

They currently have five sponsors, including Buffalo Wild Wings and Black Diamond Imagery, according to the Rivalry Run’s Web site.

The Fijis contacted MTSU officials about teaming up with a fraternity for the run, and they got connected with the Pi Kapps, Pi Kappa Phi President Michael Foster said.

The Fijis hope to return the favor for the Pi Kapps next year, Ryle said.

Foster said his fraternity is excited to be a part of this run, and members hope to keep doing this for years.

“We thought it would be a great way to get our name out there and be a part of this,” he said.

He said his fraternity is considering donating the proceeds from next year’s run to Push America, a program that reaches out to people with disabilities.