The inaugural Florida Beach Bowl will feature Fort Valley State University & Johnson C. Smith University, per an announcement by the bowl committee. The decision comes as several SIAC & CIAA schools lobbied to have their institutions featured in the inaugural game.

The Florida Beach Bowl is a game featuring a SIAC & CIAA representative facing off during the start of Bowl Season. Both SIAC & CIAA teams selected were required to have six wins to be considered for the contest. Several schools in the CIAA & SIAC fit the criteria for selection such as Albany State, Fort Valley, Miles College, Edward Waters and Allen University in the SIAC and Virginia State, Fayetteville State & Johnson C. Smith in the CIAA.

Tuskegee also had enough wins to be considered but their upcoming matchup with Alabama State in the Turkey Day Classic puts the Tigers over the maximum number of games in Division II for a non-playoff team which is 11. Benedict & Virginia Union, both clinching Division II playoff births, also had enough wins for consideration but their participation in the playoffs put them out of consideration.

Both Fort Valley State and Johnson C. Smith had tremendous seasons that give a level of intrigue to this matchup. Johnson C. Smith finished the season with a 7-3 record, the best record since 2006 when they tallied a 7-3 record. Ironically, Johson C. Smith represented the CIAA in the Pioneer Bowl in the 2006 season, losing to SIAC representative Tuskegee University 17-7. The Pioneer Bowl was the first bowl game to pit SIAC & CIAA teams against each other. It was started in 1997 but discontinued in 2012.

Meanwhile, Fort Valley also finished the season 7-3. After a narrow 37-31 loss to Tuskegee in the 2023 Red Tails Classic the Wildcats rattled off five straight victories, four of them by double-digit margins. Although Fort Valley lost to Benedict College 48-6 in a game broadcast on ESPN2 the team proceeded to win their next two games against Morehouse College & Virginia University of Lynchburg without star quarterback Kelvin Durham, who was recovering from an injury.

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The Wildcats were in contention to clinch a birth in the SIAC Championship but lost to Albany State 13-7 in the Fountain City Classic. The Golden Rams eventually secured their spot in the championship game vs. Benedict College, ultimately falling to the Tigers 47-10.

The game also presents an interesting coaching storyline. Johnson C. Smith head coach Maurice Flowers served as Fort Valley State's head coach in the 2021 season. Flowers was hired in December 2019 to lead the Wildcats but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the 2020 season to be canceled.

The Flowers-led Wildcats played two games in the Spring 2021 season, both wins over Erskine College and Shorter University. Then, the team registered a 5-5 record in the 2021 season.

Flowers stepped down as coach of Fort Valley State in January 2022 to return to his alma mater Johnson C. Smith to become their head coach. The Wildcats then hired Shawn Gibbs, a CIAA graduate from North Carolina Central ('97) and experienced assistant with championship experience with North Carolina A&T.

The matchup between Fort Valley State and Johnson C. Smith will take place in the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Wednesday, December 13, 2023. The game will be broadcast on HBCU+ and Impact Network.