The traditions of Red Out Week make the Dayton-Xavier rivalry one of the best in sports. Two current UD seniors are trying to add a great new component to that annual tradition.

These adventurous roommates are physically enacting Red Scare's 2009 slogan: "Bridge Out ... So We'll Swim!" While not exactly swimming, they are planning to row down the Great Miami River while hundreds of Dayton students walk across the Stewart Bridge to the noon contest.

"We originally thought about swimming," Kyle Steinnagel, a senior management information systems major, said about the concept. "In the end however, we decided boating would be a better idea."

Kyle and fellow senior Robert Plucis have been living together since their sophomore year and they created a Facebook group for their new movement. As of Tuesday evening, they had sent out 257 invitations to the group and 33 people confirmed their interest in the event.

"The reason for the Xavier game is that people will be walking there right above us and across the river," Plucis, a management information systems and operations double major said about the timing of the debut for rafting down the river.

In their quest of rafting the Great Miami, the two started by contacting individuals in charge of the city about the location of dams and the feasibility of such an attempt. They searched for this information on the Web and as of Tuesday, were in the process of finalizing their strategy.

The plan is to start their journey down the river by 11 a.m., when people are walking across the bridge with Red Scare. They also intend to meet up with friends at the Marriott Hotel across the street within 20 minutes, change into dry clothes and head over to the game in plenty of time.

The two recently bought an inflatable raft with paddles from Target, but have some back-up strategies for their method of transportation. They said they possibly have a paddleboat that could work instead.

Plucis said he and Steinnagel have had the idea for months, and now they are finally doing something about it. Since he has a co-op this year, Plucis sits in his own group for the UD men's basketball games and is excited about attending Saturday's showdown.

When asked about the weather for Saturday's daring adventure, the friends did not seem worried about the possible effects of Mother Nature on the river.

The weather will be "probably cold," Plucis said with little concern on his face. "I don't think the river will be frozen, but it certainly won't be warm for sure."

Another obstacle to tackle was registering the watercraft. Anyone who wants to ride a boat or raft down the river must have the craft registered, which was a source of worry for a bit.

However, the registration process was not long or complicated, much to the students' relief.

So it appears to be on. Red Scare members should keep an eye out for the seniors as they take the ride underneath the bridge Saturday morning and attempt to avoid "sinking or crashing into something," as the Facebook group states.