Winners of four consecutive games and securing their first bowl appearance since 2019, the Florida International University (FIU) football team will play in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl against the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) on Friday, December 26. The game is set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time at SMU’s Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas and will be broadcast on ESPN.
FIU officials are working to finalize details for fans regarding tickets, travel, lodging, and events related to the bowl game. Updates will be shared as soon as they are available. Fans interested in attending are encouraged to complete a form on FIUSports.com/BowlForm to receive information about the event. The university also advises supporters to purchase tickets directly through FIU, which helps ensure all fans are seated together and provides an official count of attendees that may influence future bowl selections.
“We are incredibly honored to accept an invitation to the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl,” said Director of Athletics Scott Carr. “This is a great bowl game which honors our nation’s everyday heroes. Executive Director Brant Ringler and his team host and run a first-class event. We are excited to compete and represent FIU on a national stage, and I know our student-athletes, students, alumni and supporters will have a great time and create some lifelong memories. I encourage all of Panther Nation to get behind this team and join us in Dallas as we look to conclude a great first season under Coach Simmons!”
The Panthers’ invitation marks their sixth bowl appearance since the football program’s inception in 2002. This season is also notable as it is head coach Willie Simmons’ first with FIU after previous coaching roles at Prairie View A&M and Florida A&M. The Panthers ended their regular season with a strong 56-16 win over Sam Houston, ensuring their first winning record since 2018.
A victory in Dallas would mark FIU’s eighth win this season, tying for the second-highest single-season total in program history; only the nine-win campaign of 2018 stands above it.
FIU has played UTSA four times previously, with both teams winning twice during those meetings between 2014 and 2022 when UTSA was part of Conference USA.
The Panthers finished November undefeated and received fourteen All-Conference USA postseason honors. Running back Kejon Owens was named Offensive Player of the Year—the first Panther to earn this recognition during FIU’s time in Conference USA.
Overall, FIU had four players named First Team All-Conference USA and five on the Second Team—both highs for its tenure in the league.
Since launching its football program in 2002, FIU spent three years at the FCS level before moving up to FBS competition in 2005. The school made its first bowl appearance in 2010; overall, it holds a 2-3 record across five previous bowls: victories over Toledo (2010 Little Caesars Pizza Bowl; 2018 Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl) and losses against Marshall (2011 Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl), Temple (2017 Bad Boy Movers Gasparilla Bowl), and Arkansas State (2019 Camelia Bowl).
