GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina has accepted an
invitation to play in the Birmingham Bowl at Legion Field on Jan. 3, according
to a joint announcement by bowl officials and the American Athletic Conference
Sunday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 12 noon (ET) against Florida, which
will enter the bowl season with an overall mark of 6-5 and a Southeastern
Conference record of 4-4. The Pirates and Gators have faced off once previously
with Florida posting a 24-17 victory in Gainesville on Oct. 22, 1983. The two
teams are scheduled to meet at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium again next Sept. 12.

"We are looking forward to the challenge of playing
Florida, a program rich in tradition out of a conference which has our highest
respect," fifth-year ECU Head Coach Ruffin McNeill said. "We are
excited to have another opportunity to accomplish something special for this
senior class, especially against a team the caliber of the Gators."

All bowl-related tickets (game, tailgate, donations) can be
purchased now via Bowl
Ticket Central, East Carolina's online post-season ticketing platform, or
by placing orders over the phone (252-737-4500/1-800-DIAL-ECU) or in person at
the ECU Athletics Ticket Office Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

A ticket price of $50 has been established for the contest,
while a $25 ticket is available for purchase by ECU students. Fans are reminded
that all tickets purchased through official East Carolina outlets benefit the
Pirates directly.

Seats will be assigned based upon Pirate Club priority
system and the deadline to order tickets is Monday, December 15 at 5:00 p.m.
ECU will also be selling tickets for the Pirate Club Pregame Tailgate Party and
those have been set at $30. This event is open to all members of the Pirate
Club, Alumni Association and Pirate Nation, and includes social activities,
food and drinks.

For additional information, such as travel packages and a
schedule of events, fans are encouraged to visit ECU's devoted online bowl page.

East Carolina (8-4, 5-3 American) will be making its eighth
bowl appearance in the last nine years. The Pirates played in the Papajohns.com
Bowl in 2006, the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl in 2007, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl
after the 2008 and 2009 seasons, the Military Bowl in 2010, the R+L Carriers
New Orleans Bowl in 2012 before downing Ohio 37-20 in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl
in St. Petersburg, Fla. last December.

Florida State (13-0) extended its win streak to twenty-nine
games as if captured its third straight ACC title on Saturday night at
Charlotte's Bank of American Stadium. Led by freshman Dalvin Cook’s 177 rushing yards (most by a freshman in ACC Championship game history), the Atlantic
Division champion Seminoles defeated Coastal Division champs Georgia Tech 37-35
in front of a crowd of 64,808.

Defending Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston became the
first quarterback to have two three-hundred yard passing games in the ACC title
game. Winston is still to lose a game as a college quarterback, leading the Seminoles
to twenty-six consecutive wins.

Quarterback Justin Thomas led the Georgia Tech rushing
attack with 104 yards, the most by a quarterback in ACC Championship game history.
Synjyn Days of Georgia Tech scored three touchdowns for the Yellow Jackets in
the game, doubling his scores for the year.