2011 BC Lions season

2011 BC Lions season
General managerWally Buono
Head coachWally Buono
Home fieldEmpire Field
BC Place Stadium
Results
Record11–7
Division place1st, West
Playoff finishWon Grey Cup
Team MOPTravis Lulay
Team MOCPaul McCallum
Team MORTim Brown
Uniform

The 2011 BC Lions season was the 54th season for the team in the Canadian Football League 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 championship over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers by a score of 34–23.[1] The Lions became the first team in league history to start a season 0–5 and finish in first place.[2] They also became the first team to lose their first five regular season games and win the Grey Cup.[1] 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 for 2011, becoming only the second CFL team to win the award since 1983.[3][4]

The Lions opened their training camp at Hillside Stadium in Kamloops, British Columbia with rookie camp beginning June 1 and main camp beginning on June 5.[5] Due to ongoing construction at BC Place Stadium, the Lions played their first five regular season games at Empire Field before moving to BC Place for the remaining four. On October 10, 2011, the Lions clinched a playoff berth after the Saskatchewan Roughriders lost their game to the Edmonton Eskimos. This extends the franchise record to 15 straight years in the playoffs, with that mark also tied for fourth-best in CFL history.[6]

  1. ^ a b "Restoring the roar: B.C. Lions win 99th Grey Cup". CFL.ca. 27 November 2011. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  2. ^ "BC Lions Game Notes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
  3. ^ Grey Cup champion B.C. Lions named team of the year
  4. ^ B.C. Lions named The Canadian Press's team of the year
  5. ^ "B.C. Lions to Train in Kamloops!". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-02-05.
  6. ^ "Lions clinch playoff spot: post-season trivia". Archived from the original on 2011-11-23. Retrieved 2011-10-11.