The

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

season was the 54th season for the team in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

and their 58th overall. The Lions finished in first place in the West Division with an 11–7 record. The Lions won their sixth

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

championship over the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division (CFL), West division. They play thei ...

by a score of 34–23. The Lions became the first team in league history to start a season 0–5 and finish in first place. They also became the first team to lose their first five regular season games and win the Grey Cup. The Lions were also the first team to win a Grey Cup championship in their home stadium since the 1994 BC Lions and were only the fourth team to win at home since the inception of the Canadian Football League in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

. Because of their remarkable season, the Lions were named the Canadian Press Team of the Year for 2011, becoming only the second CFL team to win the award since 1983. The Lions opened their training camp at

Hillside Stadium Hillside Stadium is a multi-purpose, fully lit stadium located next to Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia. It is the home of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, Kamloops Broncos of the Canadian Junior Football League, and the K ...

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the North Thompson River, North and South Thompson Rivers, which join to become the Thompson River in Kamloops, and east of Kamloops Lake. The city is the ad ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

with rookie camp beginning June 1 and main camp beginning on June 5. Due to ongoing construction at

BC Place Stadium BC Place is a multi-purpose stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Located at the north side of False Creek, it is owned and operated by the BC Pavilion Corporation (PavCo), a Crown corporation of the province. The venue is currently t ...

, the Lions played their first five regular season games at

Empire Field Empire Field was a temporary Canadian football and soccer stadium built at Hastings Park in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Located on the site of the former Empire Stadium, the 27,528 spectator venue was constructed while a ...

before moving to BC Place for the remaining four. On October 10, 2011, the Lions clinched a playoff berth after the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

lost their game to the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

. This extends the franchise record to 15 straight years in the playoffs, with that mark also tied for fourth-best in CFL history.

Offseason

BC Place construction

Due to the continued construction of

, the Lions started their season at

, the temporary stadium that they played in for all ten games in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. However, it was unclear as to when the Lions would move into the refurbished stadium, as the contractor, PCL Westcoast Constructor, would not reveal a date.https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/lions-caps-play-bc-place-waiting-game/article1884193/ Lions, 'Caps play B.C. Place waiting game It was likely that between three and five regular season games would be played at BC Place Stadium and it has been guaranteed that it will be complete by November 1, in time for the

99th Grey Cup The 99th Grey Cup was a Canadian football game between the Canadian Football League East Division, East Division champion Winnipeg Blue Bombers and the Canadian Football League West Division, West Division champion BC Lions to decide the champion ...

, which it is scheduled to host. On February 7, 2011, it was announced that the BC Lions would be opening the newly renovated BC Place on September 30, 2011. When the schedule was released on February 18, 2011, it was announced that the Lions' opponent would be the Edmonton Eskimos and that they would play four 2011 regular season games in BC Place Stadium.

CFL draft

The 2011 CFL Draft took place on Sunday, May 8, 2011. The Lions had five selections in the draft, with the first coming in the sixth spot overall, after trading their third overall pick with

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

. Through the trade, BC was still able to select their first choice,

Marco Iannuzzi Marco Iannuzzi (born May 21, 1987) is a retired Canadian football wide receiver for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is an official Canadian honour recipient of Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers presented by the Governor Ge ...

, with their first pick and then draft

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

/ punter Hugh O'Neill to replace the recently traded Sean Whyte. BC also selected Alex Ellis in the 2011 supplemental draft, and must forfeit a sixth-round 2012 draft pick.

Preseason

: Games played with white uniforms.

Regular season

Standings

Season schedule

* The Lions played their first five regular season games at

and played their remaining four at

. : Games played with colour uniforms. : Games played with white uniforms. : Games played with alternate uniforms.

Roster

Coaching staff

Player stats

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Awards and records

* CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award –

Travis Lulay Travis Lulay (born September 27, 1983) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. Lulay played ten seasons for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL) from 2009 to 2018. In his first season as a full-time starter, Lulay wo ...

, QB *

John Agro Special Teams Award The John Agro Special Teams Award is presented to the CFL's Most Outstanding Special Teams player that is voted by his peers. The award is named in honour of John Agro, co-founder (in 1965) of the Canadian Football League Players' Association, with ...

– Paul McCallum, K/P

2011 CFL All-Stars

*QB –

, CFL All-Star *WR – Geroy Simon, CFL All-Star *OT –

Jovan Olafioye Jovan Olafioye (born December 16, 1987) is a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman. He signed with the BC Lions as a free agent, after going undrafted in the 2009 NFL draft. Jovan attended the 2009 Detroit Lions rookie mini camp ...

, CFL All-Star *OC –

Angus Reid Angus Reid (born September 23, 1976) is a former offensive lineman who played in the Canadian Football League. Reid went to Simon Fraser University and played for the Simon Fraser Clan. He began his career with the Montreal Alouettes but was tr ...

, CFL All-Star *DT –

Aaron Hunt Aaron Hunt (born 4 September 1986) is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent most of his career at Werder Bremen, making his first-team debut at the age of 18. In the Bundesliga, he also represe ...

, CFL All-Star *DT – Khalif Mitchell, CFL All-Star *LB –

Solomon Elimimian Solomon Elimimian (born October 21, 1986) is a former Canadian football linebacker and the current president of the Canadian Football League Players' Association (CFLPA). He spent nine seasons with the BC Lions and was named the CFL's Most Out ...

, CFL All-Star *DB –

Korey Banks Korey Banks (born August 7, 1979) is a former Canadian football defensive back. He was most recently a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Pro ...

, CFL All-Star *K – Paul McCallum, CFL All-Star

Western All-Stars

*QB –

, Western All-Star *WR – Geroy Simon, Western All-Star *OT – Ben Archibald, Western All-Star *OT –

, Western All-Star *OC –

, Western All-Star *DT –

, Western All-Star *DT – Khalif Mitchell, Western All-Star *DE –

Keron Williams Keron Donavan Williams (born September 3, 1984) is a former Canadian football defensive tackle. He was originally signed by the Calgary Stampeders in 2006. Williams played college football for the UMass Minutemen. Professional career Williams was ...

, Western All-Star *LB –

, Western All-Star *CB – Dante Marsh, Western All-Star *DB –

, Western All-Star *K – Paul McCallum, Western All-Star

Milestones

*On September 10, 2011, Lions receiver Geroy Simon became the franchise's all-time touchdowns leader when he scored his 88th touchdown as a BC Lion, surpassing

Willie Fleming Willie Fleming (born February 2, 1939) is an American former professional football player with the Canadian Football League (CFL)'s BC Lions. Fleming played collegiately as a halfback at the University of Iowa, where he was a member of the H ...

Playoffs

Schedule

: Games played with colour uniforms.

Bracket

West Final

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

References

External links

2011 BC Lions season at Official Site2011 BC Lions season at CFL.ca
{{99th Grey Cup BC Lions seasons

Grey Cup championship seasons