The 2011

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

season was the 54th season for the team in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

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 (french: Coupe Grey) 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 be ...

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 their h ...

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. Because of their remarkable season, the Lions were named the

Canadian Press Team of the Year The Canadian Press Team of the Year Award is an annual award given to Canada's team of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press (CP) conduct a poll to determine the nation's top team of either gender. Winners See also *Lou Marsh Award ...

for 2011, becoming only the second CFL team to win the award since 1983. The Lions opened their training camp at Hillside Stadium in

Kamloops Kamloops ( ) is a city in south-central British Columbia, Canada, at the confluence of the South flowing North Thompson River and the West flowing Thompson River, east of Kamloops Lake. It is located in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

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 ...

, 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 to allow ...

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 i ...

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 the Brick Field at Comm ...

. 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 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. 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 the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...

. Through the trade, BC was still able to select their first choice, Marco Iannuzzi, 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'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

/ punter Hugh O'Neill to replace the recently traded Sean Whyte. BC also selected

Alex Ellis Alexander Ellis may refer to: * Alex Ellis (born 1991), Canadian racecar driver *Alexander John Ellis (1814–1890), English mathematician and philologist *Boo Ellis (Alexander Ellis, 1936–2010), American professional basketball player * Alexande ...

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 The Most Outstanding Player Award is annually awarded to the best player in the Canadian Football League. The two nominees for the award are the Terry Evanshen Trophy winner from the East Division, and the Jeff Nicklin Memorial Trophy winner from ...

–

Travis Lulay Travis may refer to: People and fictional characters * Travis (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Travis (surname), a list of people Places in the United States * Travis, Staten Island, a neighborhood * Travis Air Force Base ...

, 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 Geroy Simon (born 11 September 1975) is the assistant general manager for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He is also a former professional Canadian football slotback who played in 15 seasons in the CFL, twelve of them ...

, CFL All-Star *OT – Jovan Olafioye, CFL All-Star *OC –

Angus Reid Angus Reid (born September 23, 1976, in Richmond, British Columbia) 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 M ...

, CFL All-Star *DT – Aaron Hunt, CFL All-Star *DT – Khalif Mitchell, CFL All-Star *LB – Solomon Elimimian, 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. He played college football for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Profession ...

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

Western All-Stars

*QB –

, Western All-Star *WR –

, Western All-Star *OT – Ben Archibald, Western All-Star *OT – Jovan Olafioye, Western All-Star *OC –

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

Keron Williams Keron Donavan Williams (1984) is a retired NFL / CFL defensive tackle. He was originally signed by the Calgary Stampeders in 2006. Williams played college football for the UMass Minutemen. He also continued his career with over 10 years as a pro ...

, Western All-Star *LB – Solomon Elimimian, 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

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 a former professional Canadian football player with the Canadian Football League's BC Lions. Fleming played collegiately as a halfback at the University of Iowa, where he was a member of the Hawkeyes' ...

Playoffs

Schedule

: Games played with colour uniforms.

Bracket

*-Team won in Overtime.

West Final

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) 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 be ...

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 2011 in British Columbia