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Elon head football coach Pete Lembo resigned his position to accept the head coaching job at Ball State University, Director of Athletics Dave Blank announced on Dec. 19, 2010.

"Elon University and the Department of Athletics have much to be grateful for as a result of Pete Lembo's hard work in building a successful football program over the past five seasons," Blank said. "He and his staff have done a great job taking the Elon football program to the upper tier of the Southern Conference. Pete's leadership has provided the foundation to developing an impressive group of student-athletes and young men on and off the playing field. While we are sorry to lose Pete as our head football coach, we wish him, Jenifer and their children nothing but the best as they move on to accept new challenges in life and in his coaching career."

Lembo recently completed his fifth season with the Phoenix during which time Elon boasted a 35-22 overall record, including a 24-14 Southern Conference mark. Since 2006, Elon broke or tied 126 program, Southern Conference or NCAA records and with a 6-5 mark in 2010 posted its fourth consecutive winning season - a first for the program since nine straight winning campaigns from 1980-88.

During his five seasons at the helm of the Elon program, Lembo and his staff have taken the Phoenix from the bottom of the SoCon standings to a championship contender and top-25 program in the FCS national polls. Elon appeared in The Sports Network Top-25 poll for 40 consecutive weeks and won seven games against top-25 foes in the last five years. In 2009, Elon posted a 9-3 overall record and earned the school's first-ever berth in the FCS Playoffs. Elon finished second in the Southern Conference with a 7-1 league mark that year, also a program best.

"The last five years at Elon have been special for my family and me," said Lembo. "We have made some wonderful friends at the university and in the community. While it is very difficult to leave this great place, the opportunity to coach at Ball State and in the MAC is one I can't pass up. I would like to thank all the players, assistant coaches, administrators, support staff, alumni and fans for their tremendous contributions over the last five years."

A total of 11 players have appeared on All-America teams while 34 Phoenix players have been named to SoCon media all-conference teams and 41 to the coaches' teams. Since 2006, an Elon player has won five FCS national statistical titles.

Off the field, the program has made noticeable improvements in the areas of academic progress, recruiting, alumni relations, home game attendance, scheduling and community outreach under Lembo's guidance.

The search for a new head football coach will begin immediately and Blank did not specify a time frame or target date to fill the position.