FIU will play in its third bowl game in program history. The Panthers have accepted an invitation to the 2017 Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl in St. Petersburg, Fla. on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. (ET). The game, which will be played at Tropicana Field, will be broadcast on ESPN. The Panthers will face the Temple Owls of the American Athletic Conference.

“We’re very excited to be headed to the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl,” FIU Head Football Coach Butch Davis said. “Our guys have worked really hard this year, and I’m proud that we’ll end this season in a bowl. We look forward to playing Temple. They’ve had a good season. It should be a great game in St. Pete.”

The Panthers finished the 2017 regular season with an 8-4 mark, which matched the best mark in school history. Davis, in his first-year as head coach of the Panthers, also guided FIU to a 5-3 record and second place finish in the Conference USA East Division.

Temple finished the regular season 6-6 and 4-4 in the AAC, which was third in the east division. The Owls won three of their last four games to become eligible.

For ticket information visit FIUSports.com or contact the University Credit Union Box Office at 305-FIU-GAME.

For more details visit FIUSports.com and GasparillaBowl.com.