 The Pirates played in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for a second consecutive year on January 2, 2010.As part of the early-2010s NCAA conference realignment, East Carolina joined the American Athletic Conference in 2014.Elon University made 4 trips to the NAIA National Championship in football game winning back to back championships in 1980 and 1981, and has since moved to the NCAA's second-tier Division I FCS and the Colonial Athletic Association.