The season, which was affected by franchise shifts and schedule delays due in part to the UFL's lingering financial issues (as well as a failure to capitalize on the National Football League's player lockout),[1][2][3] began on September 15, 2011, and would have run through October 28, with a championship game set for the following weekend.
Prior to shuttering the Tuskers franchise (a move the UFL made citing decreased attendance and stadium issues in the Orlando area),[8] the league had been aiming for as many as eight franchises for 2011; the league was "pretty committed" to a team in the Los Angeles area (a market it has explored in the past to various degrees), and plans were almost in place for a team in Portland, Oregon.
[38] The Las Vegas Locomotives sought a lower-cost alternative to the high rate of rent for Sam Boyd Stadium and considered moving to the smaller Cashman Field for 2011,[39] but instead opted to return to Sam Boyd Stadium, where they wound up playing one home game (October 8) before the league's regular season was cancelled (the Locos' two remaining home games were dropped due to the cancellation); low attendance at the stadium despite a renewed public relations push was a factor in the abbreviation of the 2011 season, as the Locos drew only 6,500 fans to their lone home game, significantly less than 2009 or 2010.
With the tumult and delays of the offseason seemingly behind it, the UFL began its 2011 season on September 15, with the Virginia Destroyers winning 23-13 over the Omaha Nighthawks.
The Destroyers were led by quarterback Chris Greisen, who directed 2nd quarter scoring drives of 81 and 62 yards; Delbert Alvarado added three field goals.
[46] The Locos, coached by Jim Fassel, were led by 2nd-year starting quarterback Chase Clement and running back Marcel Shipp.
The Destroyers would prevail in the game 17-3, exacting a bit of revenge on the Locos' the league's 2-time defending champs (at the expense of the Florida Tuskers).
The game MVP was Destroyers safety and Virginia Beach native Aaron Rouse, who had three pass interceptions on the evening and returned one for a touchdown.
The Nighthawks were marked by Joe Moglia's return to coaching football after 27 years out of the game, and many of his unusual efforts (multiple quarterbacks and the implementation of a spread offense) were ineffective against the rest of the league.
After several delays, the UFL released its original 2011 schedule on June 9, one that featured five teams (including the Hartford Colonials) playing eight games over a 10-week span (double round robin, two bye weeks for each team) that was to have begun the weekend of August 13–14 and culminate with the UFL championship game the weekend of October 21–23.
When the UFL announced the Colonials' contraction on August 10, they also confirmed that the remaining four teams would each play a 6-game schedule mirroring the pattern used in the league's inaugural season in 2009 (double round robin, 1 bye week for each team), and also released the opening week games (Virginia at Omaha on September 15, Las Vegas at Sacramento on September 17),[32] with the balance of the schedule released on August 16.
The league's previous 2-year television contracts with Versus and HDNet expired on December 31, 2010, as did a 1-year local deal with regional cable network NESN, which carried two Hartford Colonials games in 2010.
[57] During the same offseason, Versus's parent company Comcast purchased NBC and thus gained access to that network's NFL contract, deciding not to renew its deal with the UFL.
[32] HDNet then released a statement on September 2 denying it had ever agreed to carry any UFL games in 2011, leaving the league without any television partners.
[58] The lack of a national TV partner would force the UFL to rely solely on local TV partnerships; two UFL teams, Sacramento and Virginia, would reach deals with their regions' Comcast SportsNet networks (CSN California and CSN Mid-Atlantic, respectively) for select games,[33][59] while Las Vegas and Omaha would arrange deals with local cable carriers to relay the other networks' broadcasts to their home markets.