[5] The bowl earned the right to select these teams via its multimillion-dollar payout system, which guarantees a certain amount of money to the participating conferences.
[6] Leeman Bennett, the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, served as chairman of the selection committee, which had the task of picking the best teams from those made available by the selection criteria set by the two conferences.
The committee would have approximately one month to select the two teams that would attract the most people to the game and generate the largest possible television audience.
[10] Two days after the selections were announced, the game was declared sold out, the 11th consecutive sellout in the combined history of the Peach and Chick-fil-A Bowls.
It was hosted by Lee Corso and Erin Andrews, along with reporters David Hamilton and Nikky Williams.
During halftime, Christopher Stewart of Corryton, TN was the winner of a national drawing for the AT&T "Kick for a Million" contest.