South Carolina Coach Shane Beamer has plenty of respect for Mack Brown and all he has accomplished.

The first-year head man of the Gamecocks was on hand when Brown was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame three years ago because his father was also being inducted that night. Frank Beamer, the longtime legendary Virginia Tech coach, went in at the same time as Brown, so Shane got to experience first-hand one of the most momentous occasions of Brown’s professional career.

“We spent some time together in New York City whenever that was 2017, 2018, I believe, when they both went into the Hall of Fame,” Beamer said Sunday evening when meeting with the media following the announcement that his team will face Brown’s North Carolina squad on Dec. 30 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl in Charlotte.

“So, (he’s) somebody that I have a lot of respect for.”

Beamer guided the Gamecocks to a 6-6 season, including 3-5 in the SEC, but their last two victories were a rout of Florida and win over Auburn just a couple of weeks ago.

“I’m excited for the bowl game,” Beamer said. “I think a lot of the people in Charlotte and have heard amazing things about this trip. I’ve never been myself, but was just in Charlotte on Friday night for an event with my dad and the Atlantic Coast Conference where he was being honored.

“I know there was a lot of energy about Gamecock football in Charlotte on Friday night when I was up there and a lot of excitement about the possibility of us being there.”

The excitement is twofold now that the Tar Heels will also be at Bank of America Stadium with the Gamecocks. Old rivals in the Southern Conference and charter members of the ACC, the two Carolina schools have met in Charlotte twice over the last six years. USC won the opener in 2015 before the Heels reeled off 11 consecutive wins, and in Brown’s first game back at UNC, the Tar Heels came from behind for a 24-20 victory in 2019.

Both fan bases like to claim Charlotte as one of their major ports of interest, and Beamer expects both bases to show out.

“Looking forward to getting up there and the bowl prep and it’ll be a great opportunity for us to play in Charlotte,” he said. “I know it’s going to be a fantastic atmosphere, a fantastic environment, two proud fan bases, and I hope our fan base is excited about the opportunity to go to a bowl game for the first time since 2018.”

And, Beamer sees this as a great opportunity for his program to face a regional rival and a legendary coach.

“So now that it’s a reality, we’re really excited about the opportunity to go and to compete against a great team like the University of North Carolina and a great coach like Mack Brown,” he said. “Just add it to the number of coaches that we’ve played this year that have either played for or won a national championship. Jimbo Fisher a few weeks ago, Dabo Swinney last week. Kirby played for and coached one at Georgia. And Mack Brown is obviously a legend in this profession.”

UNC leads the all-time series between the programs 35-19-4.