| Competition: | Irn-Bru Scottish First Division |
| Season: | 2011–12 |
| Winners: | Ross County |
| Promoted: | Ross County Dundee |
| Relegated: | Ayr United Queen of the South |
| Matches: | 180 |
| Total Goals: | 507 |
| League Topscorer: | Colin McMenamin (19) |
| Biggest Home Win: | Partick Thistle 5–0 Greenock Morton (30 September 2011) Raith Rovers 5–0 Greenock Morton (3 March 2012) |
| Biggest Away Win: | Hamilton Academical 1–6 Dundee (3 December 2011) Queen of the South 0–5 Partick Thistle (17 March 2012) |
| Highest Scoring: | (8 goals) Queen of the South 3–5 Ross County (5 May 2012) |
| Longest Wins: | 9 games Ross County |
| Longest Unbeaten: | 34 games Ross County |
| Longest Winless: | 9 games Ayr United |
| Longest Losses: | 4 games Queen of the South Raith Rovers Falkirk Ayr United |
| Highest Attendance: | 5,862[1] Dundee v Greenock Morton (26 December 2011) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 859[2] Livingston v Ayr United (6 March 2011) |
| Average Attendance: | 2,297 |
| Prevseason: | 2010–11 |
| Nextseason: | 2012–13 |
The 2011–12 Scottish Football League First Division, also known as the 2011–12 Irn Bru Scottish Football League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the 18th season of the Scottish First Division and the 106th season of a second-tier football league in Scotland. Dunfermline Athletic are the current champions. It began on 6 August 2011 and is scheduled to end on 5 May 2012.The league comprises the teams ranked second through eighth of the 2010–11 season, the relegated side from the 2010–11 Premier League (Hamilton Academical), the 2010–11 Second Division champions, and the winners of the 2010–11 First Division play-off (Livingston and Ayr United respectively).
Dunfermline Athletic, champions of the 2010–11 season, were promoted to the 2011–12 Premier League.[3] The club thus completed a five-season tenure in the First Division. Dunfermline were replaced by Hamilton Academical, who were relegated from the 2010–11 Premier League after finishing at the bottom of the table;[3] Hamilton returned to the First Division after three years.
At the bottom end of the table, last-placed Stirling Albion were directly relegated to the 2011–12 Second Division[3] after being promoted to the second tier only one season earlier. They were replaced by the 2010–11 Second Division champions Livingston,[3] who returned to the First Division after two consecutive promotions in two years; the club had previously been demoted for financial irregularities at the end of the 2008–09 season.[4]
An additional place in the league was available via a play-off tournament between the ninth-placed First Division team, Cowdenbeath, and the sides ranked second through to fourth in the Second Division, Ayr United, Forfar Athletic and Brechin City respectively. The tournament was won by Ayr United,[3] who therefore were promoted back to the First Division after a one-year absence; Cowdenbeath hence were relegated,[3] returning to the Second Division after just one season.
| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayr United | Ayr | Somerset Park | 10,243 | |
| Dundee | Dundee | Dens Park | 12,085 | |
| Falkirk | Falkirk | Falkirk Stadium | 9,120 | |
| Greenock Morton | Greenock | Cappielow | 11,612 | |
| Hamilton Academical | Hamilton | New Douglas Park | 6,096 | |
| Livingston | Livingston | Braidwood Motor Company Stadium | 10,122 | |
| Partick Thistle | Glasgow | Firhill Stadium | 13,079 | |
| Queen of the South | Dumfries | Palmerston Park | 6,412 | |
| Raith Rovers | Kirkcaldy | Stark's Park | 10,104 | |
| Ross County | Dingwall | Victoria Park | 6,310 |
| Team | Manager | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ayr United | Brian Reid | Nike | Bodog | |
| Dundee | Barry Smith | Puma | Kilmac Energy | |
| Falkirk | Steven Pressley | Puma | Central Demolition | |
| Greenock Morton | Allan Moore | Puma | Ferguson's Chocolates (H), Buchanan's Toffees (A), Millions Chews (T) | |
| Hamilton Academical | Billy Reid | Nike | M&H Logistics (H), Life Skills Centres (A,T) | |
| Livingston | John Hughes | Umbro | Fasteq | |
| Partick Thistle | Jackie McNamara | Puma | macb (Until March) Just Employment Law (March onwards) | |
| Queen of the South | Gus MacPherson | Joma | Border Utilities Ltd | |
| Raith Rovers | John McGlynn | Puma | Kittys & Styx (H), ACA Sports (A) | |
| Ross County | Derek Adams | Nike | Highnet |
Teams play each other four times in this league. In the first half of the season each team plays every other team twice (home and away) and then do the same in the second half of the season, for a total of 36 games
The fourth placed team in the Second Division (Airdrie United) will play the ninth placed team in the First Division (Ayr United) and third placed team in the Second Division (Dumbarton) will play the second placed team in the Second Division (Arbroath). The play-offs will be played over two legs, the winning team in each semi-final will advance to the final.
First legs--------
Second legs--------
The two semi-final winners will play each other over two legs. Originally, the winning team only was to be awarded a place in the 2012–13 First Division. Following the Rangers F.C. administration situation, both teams were awarded places.
First leg----
Second leg----
| Player | For ! | Against | Result | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen of the South | Greenock Morton | 4–1 | ||
| Dundee | Hamilton Academical | 6–1 | ||
| Livingston | Raith Rovers | 4–0 | ||
| Ross County | Ayr United | 3–2 | ||
| Livingston | Raith Rovers | 3–0 | ||
| Raith Rovers | Falkirk | 3–2 | ||
| Partick Thistle | Dundee | 3–0 | ||
| Rank[5] | Player | Team | Yellow | Red |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mark McLaughlin | Hamilton Academical | 5 | 2 |
| Simon Mensing | Hamilton Academical | 8 | 1 | |
| 3 | Stephen O'Donnell | Dundee | 4 | 2 |
| Darren Dods | Falkirk | 7 | 1 | |
| 5 | Craig Reid | Queen of the South | 3 | 2 |
| 6 | Stuart Kettlewell | Ross County | 5 | 1 |
| Mark Fotheringham | Livingston | 5 | 1 | |
| Paul Watson | Livingston | 5 | 1 | |
| 9 |  Farid El Alagui | Falkirk | 8 | 0 |
| Stephen McKenna | Queen of the South | 8 | 0 |
| Month | First Division Manager of the Month | SFL Player of the Month | SFL Young player of the Month | Ginger Boot | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manager | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | Player | Club | ||
| August[6] | Allan Moore | Greenock Morton | Dougie Imrie | Hamilton Academical | Craig Sibbald | Falkirk | Third division player | ||
| September[7] | Steven Pressley | Falkirk | Farid El Alagui | Falkirk | Second division player | Peter MacDonald | Greenock Morton | ||
| October[8] | Derek Adams Steven Pressley | Ross County Falkirk | Darren Dods Grant Munro | Falkirk Ross County | Aaron Sinclair | Partick Thistle | Second division player | ||
| November[9] | Barry Smith | Dundee | Nicky Riley | Dundee | Second division player | Third division player | |||
| December[10] | Jackie McNamara | Partick Thistle | Farid El Alagui | Falkirk | Third division player | Third division player | |||
| January[11] | Steven Pressley | Falkirk | Third division player | Third division player | Third division player | ||||
| February[12] | Steven Pressley | Falkirk | Second division player | Andy Ryan | Hamilton | Second division player | |||
| March | |||||||||
| April | |||||||||