 Facing the Tar Heels were the Virginia Tech Hokies, second-place finishers in the Big East Conference.Gator Bowl officials considered inviting Big East third-place West Virginia due to its reputation for bringing large numbers of fans to bowl games, but decided against inviting the Mountaineers out of recognition that North Carolina and West Virginia played each other in the 1997 Gator Bowl.The North Carolina Tar Heels began the 1997 college football season having gone 10–2 in 1996, a year that ended with a 20–13 win over West Virginia in the 1997 Gator Bowl.