The game featured over 100 players from the 2011 college football season, and prospects for the 2012 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL).
In the week prior to the game, scouts from all 32 NFL teams attended.
The proceeds from the East-West Shrine Game benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children.
Brad Childress and Bobby Ross were named coaches on December 19, 2011.
The Pat Tillman Award was presented to Tauren Poole (RB, Tennessee) as a player who "best exemplifies character, intelligence, sportsmanship and service".