Milton Keynes Dons will play Sky Bet Championship football for the first time after sealing automatic promotion on a tense final day of the Sky Bet League 1 campaign.
The Milton Keynes club, formed in 2004, began the afternoon in third place and a point behind Preston North End who blew their chance of a top-two finish by losing 1-0 at relegation-threatened Colchester United.Karl Robinson's team ended the season in style with a 5-1 home win against bottom side Yeovil Town which took their goal tally for the campaign to 101 - a club record.
Carl Baker opened the scoring for MK Dons and they were 4-0 ahead by half-time after further goals from Dean Lewington (24), Darren Potter (35) and Will Grigg (39). Yeovil pulled one back as Josh Spence scored an own goal 11 minutes into the second half, but Lewington's second and the Dons' fifth restored the four-goal cushion.
Preston North End's first defeat in 19 league matches means it is the Play-Offs for them, and they will face Chesterfield in the semi-finals.
George Moncur's 82nd-minute goal kept Colchester United up and there was further drama at the bottom end of the table as Coventry City saved their own skin by beating Crawley Town 2-1, which meant the Red Devils went down.
Notts County engineered their own 'great escape' 12 months ago but recently-appointed manager Ricardo Moniz could not repeat Shaun Derry's feat as a 3-1 loss at Gillingham sent them back to Sky Bet League 2.
Leyton Orient, last season's beaten Play-Off finalists at Wembley, completed the bottom four as a 2-2 draw at Play-Off-bound Swindon Town was not enough. The Os played against 10 men for 70 minutes and led 2-0 but still failed to win.
Crewe Alexandra survived by the skin of their teeth despite losing 1-0 at home to Bradford City.
Champions Bristol City capped a memorable campaign with an 8-2 victory over Walsall at Ashton Gate, where defender Aden Flint scored a hat-trick.
There were also plenty of goals at Oakwell, where Barnsley beat 10-man Rochdale 5-0, and the Keepmoat Stadium, where Doncaster Rovers defeated local rivals Scunthorpe United 5-2 - with Nathan Tyson netting a hat-trick for Rovers.
Neighbours Sheffield United and Chesterfield shared a 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane, where both teams were assured of their places in the Play-Offs prior to kick-off. The Blades will face Swindon Town in the semi-finals.
Elsewhere, Fleetwood Town won 2-1 at Port Vale and Oldham Athletic and Peterborough United shared the points in a 1-1 draw.