The 2011 Pac-12 Conference football season began on September 1, 2011 with Montana State at Utah and UC Davis at Arizona State. The conference's first game was played on September 10 with Utah at USC, and the final game played was the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday, December 2. Oregon defeated UCLA^[1] to claim their third straight conference title. This is the first season for the conference as a 12-team league. In July 2011, Colorado and Utah joined the conference, at which time the league's name changed from the Pacific-10 Conference.

Seven teams accepted bowl bids, an improvement from four the previous season. The BCS bowls featured Oregon in the Rose Bowl against Big Ten champion Wisconsin and Stanford facing Big 12 champion Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl. The Ducks claimed their first Rose Bowl victory since 1917, while the Cardinal fell to the Cowboys in overtime. Of the non-BCS bowl participants, only Utah won their matchup against Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl.

Four teams changed head coaches. Arizona head coach Mike Stoops was fired midseason, while UCLA's Rick Neuheisel, Arizona State's Dennis Erickson, and Washington State's Paul Wulff were let go at the end of the season.

Oregon repeated as the conference champion, ending the regular season with a program-first twelve wins and with a #2 BCS ranking. The Ducks earned a berth in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game, which they lost to SEC Champion Auburn. Stanford repeated as the conference runner-up, ending the regular season with a program-first eleven wins (their sole loss was to Oregon) and with a #4 BCS ranking, giving them an at-large BCS berth. The Cardinal defeated ACC Champion Virginia Tech in the 2011 Orange Bowl. Arizona lost to Oklahoma State while Washington defeated Nebraska in non-BCS bowls.

2011 Pac-12 Spring Football:

• David Shaw took over as head coach of the Stanford Cardinal after Jim Harbaugh was hired as head coach of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.
• Mike Stoops was fired as head coach of the Arizona Wildcats on October 10 after starting the season 1–5 (their sole victory was against FCS Northern Arizona). Including the previous season, the Wildcats under Stoops had lost 10 consecutive games against FBS opponents, with their last victory over a FBS team taking place nearly a year earlier on October 30, 2010 against UCLA. They had then lost their final four games and the Alamo Bowl. Defensive Coordinator Tim Kish was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season.^[2] Former Michigan head coach Rich Rodriguez was named the new head coach on November 22.^[3]
• Rick Neuheisel was fired as head coach of the UCLA Bruins on November 28, but coached his final game in the inaugural Pac-12 Championship Game on December 2.^[4] Offensive coordinator Mike Johnson will coach the Bruins in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.^[5] On December 10, 2011, Jim L. Mora was named new head coach of the Bruins.^[6]
• Arizona State announced on November 28 that Dennis Erickson will not return the following year as head coach, but will coach the Sun Devils in their bowl game.^[7] Former Pittsburgh head coach Todd Graham was announced as Erickson's successor on December 14.^[8]
• Paul Wulff was fired as the head coach of the Washington State Cougars on November 29.^[9] He was succeeded by former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach on November 30.^[10]

Pac-12 teams played in the following bowl games.^[117] Pac-12 teams are bolded.

Following each week of games, Pac-12 conference officials selected the players of the week from the conference's teams.

^A Due to reconstruction at California Memorial Stadium, California played their 2011 home games in AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.^[131]
^B Washington official home game played versus Washington State in Seattle, WA at CenturyLink Field (capacity 67,000) as renovation began on Husky Stadium.^[132]
^C This was an official Washington State home game played versus Oregon State at CenturyLink Field.^[133]

• May 26, 2011 – The NCAA upheld all findings and penalties against USC in their infractions case on former players Reggie Bush and O. J. Mayo. The USC football team will not participate in the Pac-12 Football Championship Game or a bowl game.^[134]
• July 18, 2011 – USC running back Marc Tyler was suspended for the season opener against Minnesota for making inappropriate comments to the media.^[135]
• July 27, 2011 – Media Day in Los Angeles.
• November 30, 2011 - Stanford defensive assistant Chester McGlockton, who had been on the coaching staff for the past two seasons, died suddenly in his sleep.^[136]
• November 30, 2011 - The NCAA granted UCLA a waiver to still be bowl-eligible in the event of a loss in the Pac-12 title game to finish at 6-7.^[137] UCLA subsequently accepted a bid to participate in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl.^[5]
• December 5, 2011 - Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris was dismissed from the team for violating team rules. He had already been suspended from the team indefinitely following a traffic stop on October 24 and only played in six games during the season.^[138]
• December 10, 2011 - Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck becomes the fourth player to be a runner up for the Heisman Trophy in consecutive seasons and the first since Arkansas running back Darren McFadden in 2006 and 2007.^[139] In 2010, the award was won by Auburn quarterback Cam Newton and this year it was won by Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. This was the third year in a row that Stanford has had a runner-up for the Heisman (running back Toby Gerhart was the runner up in 2009).
• December 31, 2011 - Washington fires defensive coordinator Nick Holt, linebackers coach Mike Cox, and safeties coach Jeff Mills after the Huskies give up the most yards in school history in a 67-56 loss to Baylor in the Alamo Bowl.^[140]
• January 2, 2012 - Oregon defeats Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl for their first Rose Bowl victory since 1917, setting a record for most total points scored with 83.^[141] Stanford falls to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl in overtime, giving the Cowboys their first BCS bowl victory.^[142]

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

• Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

Maxwell Award

• Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford

Walter Camp Player of the Year Award

• Andrew Luck, QB, Stanford