The bowl was slated to invite teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the American Athletic Conference (The American). However, with four SEC teams selected for New Year's Six games, the Birmingham Bowl matchup announced on December 2 featured Wake Forest from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), rather than an SEC team, to face Memphis from The American.[4] The two programs previously met four times, each team winning twice, between 1964 and 1967.[5]
Wake Forest received and accepted a bid to the Birmingham Bowl on December 2.[4] The Demon Deacons entered the bowl with a 6–6 record (3–5 in conference).