DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — The University of Dayton Flyers' annual home game against the Xavier Musketeers "is always the biggest game of the year for the students," said Jerry Stoffl, president of Red Scare, the UD student varsity athletic booster organization. "However, this year the interest was definitely there times two."

That's because a win over No. 14-ranked Xavier today, Feb. 11, at UD Arena could legitimize UD's bid for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. It's also because Xavier has become the Flyers' fiercest rival.

"The atmosphere is electric," said Willie Morris, director of the Flyer Pep Band. "It's really intense."

UD and Xavier are both private, Catholic universities in Southwest Ohio that compete in the Atlantic 10 conference. "The students are the same student body, in a sense," Morris said.

However, the competition ends off the court, where basketball underdog UD has the upper hand.

UD is rated as a national research institution; Xavier is a Midwestern regional university. "We're the largest private institution in Ohio, significantly larger than Xavier," said Daniel J. Curran, UD president.

UD boasts more doctoral programs and professional schools than Xavier, which lacks a law school like UD's.

The University of Dayton Research Institute is a national leader in scientific and engineering research with revenues of $76 million in 2007 from contracts and grants. Xavier does not have an entity on that scale "that competes for federally funded dollars," said Bill Hunt, UD vice president of alumni relations.

UD competes for students with Miami University and Ohio University more so than Xavier, Hunt said.

Of course, UD and Xavier battle one another for local hoops talent. "Xavier is committed to their program as we are, and I think that's what makes us two of the stronger athletic programs in the Atlantic 10 conference," Curran said.

The competition between UD and Xavier is "a very healthy rivalry and certainly we get excited about competing on the court," said Curran, who considers Xavier University President Michael J. Graham a friend. Many UD students, faculty and staff members also have close friends at Xavier, which adds to the rivalry.

"When we're off the court and not playing each other, we're extremely supportive of each other because we know in a lot of ways people see us as joined at the hip," Curran said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2419 or dlarsen@DaytonDailyNews.com.

How to watch

What: Dayton vs. Xavier

When: 7 p.m. today, Feb. 11

TV: Live on ESPN Classic, tape delay on ESPN2 at 11 p.m.

Radio: WHIO-AM 1290