2011 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2011 NCAA Division I FBS football season . The Bearcats were led by second year head coach Butch Jones and played their home games at Nippert Stadium and two conference games at Paul Brown Stadium . They are a member of the Big East Conference . They finished the season 10 – 3 , 5 – 2 in Big East play to share the conference championship with Louisville and West Virginia . Despite the conference title , which was their third in the last four years , they did not receive the conference 's automatic bid into a BCS game ( West Virginia received the bid based on BCS rankings ) . They were invited to the Liberty Bowl where they defeated Vanderbilt 31 – 24
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
2011 Cincinnati Bearcats football team