| Game Name: | Belk Bowl |
| Subheader: | 18th Belk Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 31 |
| Year Game Played: | 2019 |
| Football Season: | 2019 |
| Stadium: | Bank of America Stadium |
| City: | Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Visitor School: | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Virginia Tech |
| Visitor Nickname: | Hokies |
| Visitor Record: | 8–4 |
| Visitor Conference: | ACC |
| Visitor Coach: | Justin Fuente |
| Visitor 1Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 3 |
| Home School: | University of Kentucky |
| Home Name Short: | Kentucky |
| Home Nickname: | Wildcats |
| Home Record: | 7–5 |
| Home Conference: | SEC |
| Home Coach: | Mark Stoops |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 10 |
| Home 4Q: | 13 |
| Mvp: | Lynn Bowden (QB, Kentucky)[1] |
| Odds: | Virginia Tech by 1.5[2] |
| Referee: | David Alvarez (Big 12)[3] |
| Attendance: | 44,138[4] |
| Payout: | 4,780,461[5] |
| Us Network: | ESPN & ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | ESPN: Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Anthony Becht (analyst) and Rocky Boiman (sideline) ESPN Radio: Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark Herzlich (analyst) and Kelsey Riggs (sideline) |
| Different Next: | 2020 |
The 2019 Belk Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2019, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.[6] It was the 18th edition of the Belk Bowl, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by department store chain Belk.
The game was played between the Virginia Tech Hokies from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Kentucky Wildcats from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the 20th meeting between the programs; Kentucky entered the game leading the all-time series, 11–6–2.[7]
See main article: 2019 Virginia Tech Hokies football team. Virginia Tech entered the bowl with an 8–4 record (5–3 in conference). They finished second in the ACC's Coastal Division. The Hokies were 1–1 against ranked FBS teams, defeating Wake Forest and losing to Notre Dame. This was Virginia Tech's second Belk Bowl; their 2016 team won that season's Belk Bowl over Arkansas, 35–24.
See main article: 2019 Kentucky Wildcats football team. Kentucky entered the bowl with a 7–5 record (3–5 in conference). They finished in the three-way tie for fourth place in the SEC's East Division. The Wildcats lost to both ranked FBS teams that they played, Florida and Georgia. This was Kentucky's first appearance in the Belk Bowl.