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.