 In the spring of 1986 , the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce ( <unk> ) took over the Peach Bowl . The bowl executive director at the time was Dick <unk> , and he encouraged the Chamber to step up its support of the game over what had been provided by the Lions Club . In 1986 , the Peach Bowl had no contractual obligations with college football conferences , as its successor , the Chick @-@ <unk> @-@ A Bowl , does today . Team selections were made by the Peach Bowl committee , a board of Atlanta community members , business leaders , and organizers of the Peach Bowl . To form one half of the matchup , the committee selected second @-@ place Atlantic Coast Conference team NC State , which accepted the bowl bid on November 22 , 1986 , the day of their final regular @-@ season game . The other half of the matchup was Virginia Tech , a football independent that had finished with nine wins , one loss , and one tie during the regular season and received its invitation one week after the regular season concluded . 
