# Lincoln Oaklanders football

The Lincoln Oaklanders are the college football team representing Lincoln University of Oakland, California. The team is Independent and plays as a traveling team. The school's first football team was fielded in 2021. Athletic director Desmond Gumbs has been the head football coach since the 2021 season.

## History

The Oaklanders began play in the 2021 season as an independent, hoping to join the NCAA by 2022.
Athletic director Desmond Gumbs was named head coach for the Oaklanders' inaugural season, while former Super Bowl XLV champion Desmond Bishop served as defensive coordinator. On September 11, 2021, the Oaklanders made their debut against the Whitworth Pirates where they were defeated 29–31. Lincoln earned their first win as a program the following week defeating Willamette 34–9. Lincoln proceeded to lose the following seven games, ending their season with a 1–8 record.
In 2022, the Oaklanders faced a Southland Conference opponent, losing to Texas A&M Commerce, as well as a Big Sky Conference opponent, falling to Portland State, and then a WAC opponent, losing to Southern Utah. The Oaklanders showed slight improvement, finishing the season 2–8. In week 6, they set a program record by scoring 70 points in a 70–0 shutout win against Hilbert College. Lincoln's other win came in week 9 against Bluefield State University where they defeated the Big Blues 20–17.
The early portion of the 2023 season saw Lincoln play its first in-state game, taking on a Big Sky program for a second time in its history when facing Cal Poly. Led by upperclassmen including former Ohio State defensive back Amir Riep, former UTEP quarterback T.J. Goodwin, and former North Dakota running back Otis Weah, the Oaklanders briefly held a first-half lead before the Mustangs rallied to ultimately win 41–20.
During its first three unaffiliated seasons, Lincoln played its games exclusively as the visitor. In the offseason of 2023, following the departure of the nearby Oakland Raiders, columnist Omar-Rashon Borja of Redshirt Sports opined that RingCentral Coliseum ought to be repurposed into a facility to host Lincoln games.
On February 2, 2024, USA Today published an article critical of the Oaklanders football program, largely characterizing it as being ill-prepared to compete against either NCAA or NAIA schools (as the Oaklanders do not belong to either association and are thus not regulated by any set of outside standards) and having inadequate player support systems and facilities, with one former player calling the Oaklanders "the college Bishop Sycamore". School officials pushed back against allegations of neglect or fraud by some former players, stating that the problems surrounding the program were due to a lack of resources.

## Season-by-season results

| Year | Coach | Conference | Overall Record |
| 2021 | Desmond Gumbs | Independent | 1–8 |
| 2022 | Desmond Gumbs | Independent | 2–8 |
| 2023 | Desmond Gumbs | Independent | 0–12 |
| 2024 | Desmond Gumbs | Independent | 0–11 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | 3–39 (.071) |

### 2021

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 11 | 1:00 p.m. | at Whitworth | Pine BowlSpokane, WA | L 29–31 | 1,760 |
| September 18 | 1:00 p.m. | at Willamette | McCulloch StadiumSalem, OR | W 34–9 | 300 |
| September 25 | 4:00 p.m. | at Stephen F. Austin | Homer Bryce StadiumNacogdoches, TX | L 13–61 | 5,346 |
| October 2 | 5:00 p.m. | at Eastern New Mexico | Greyhound StadiumPortales, NM | L 6–52 | 3,880 |
| October 9 | 4:00 p.m. | at UT Permian Basin | Ratliff StadiumOdessa, TX | L 0–75 | 3,560 |
| October 16 | 5:00 p.m. | at Texas A&M–Kingsville | Javelina StadiumKingsville, TX | L 21–51 | 5,023 |
| October 30 | 6:00 p.m. | at Central Washington | Tomlinson StadiumEllensburg, WA | L 0–92 | 3,872 |
| November 6 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 20 (Div. II) Western Colorado | Mountaineer BowlGunnison, CO | L 6–72 | 438 |
| November 13 | 1:00 p.m. | at Western Oregon | McArthur FieldMonmouth, OR | L 16–55 | 2,025 |
| Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||

### 2022

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 5:00 p.m. | at Texas A&M–Commerce | Memorial StadiumCommerce, TX | L 7–52 | 2,130 |
| September 10 | 1:00 p.m. | at Western Oregon | McArthur FieldMonmouth, OR | L 10–42 | 1,123 |
| September 17 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 2 (Div. II) Grand Valley State | Lubbers StadiumAllendale, MI | L 7–66 | 16,624 |
| September 24 | 11:00 a.m. | at St. Thomas (MN) | O'Shaughnessy StadiumSt. Paul, MN | L 6–43 | 4,359 |
| October 8 | 2:00 p.m. | at Portland State | Hillsboro StadiumHillsboro, OR | L 6–48 | 2,921 |
| October 14 | 4:00 p.m. | at Hilbert | Polian Family FieldHamburg, NY | W 70–0 | 200 |
| October 22 | 9:00 a.m. | at No. 22 (Div. II) Davenport | Farmers Insurance ComplexCaledonia, MI | L 14–58 | 1,300 |
| October 29 | 12:00 p.m. | at Texas Southern | PNC StadiumHouston, TX | L 2–37 | 6,500 |
| November 5 | 9:00 a.m. | at Bluefield | Mitchell StadiumBluefield, WV | W 20–17 | 327 |
| November 12 | 10:00 a.m. | at Southern Utah | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | L 0–55 | 3,556 |
| Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||

### 2023

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| August 26 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 12 (NAIA) College of Idaho | Simplot StadiumCaldwell, ID | L 7–37 | 2,849 |
| September 2 | 5:00 p.m. | at Adams State | Rex StadiumAlamosa, CO | L 16–35 | 2,876 |
| September 9 | 1:00 p.m. | at Western Oregon | McArthur FieldMonmouth, OR | L 14–29 | 2,323 |
| September 16 | 5:00 p.m. | at Cal Poly | Mustang Memorial FieldSan Luis Obispo, CA | L 20–41 | 9,238 |
| September 23 | 4:00 p.m. | at Lamar | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | L 0–38 | 4,873 |
| September 30 | 12:00 p.m. | at Texas Southern | Shell Energy StadiumHouston, TX | L 7–52 | 6,352 |
| October 7 | 10:00 a.m. | at New Haven | Ralph F. DellaCamera StadiumWest Haven, CT | L 0–38 | 1,131 |
| October 14 | 2:00 p.m. | at Southern | Ace W. Mumford StadiumBaton Rouge, LA | L 18–45 | 21,492 |
| October 21 | 10:00 a.m. | at Tennessee State | Nissan StadiumNashville, TN | L 0–54 | 2,727 |
| October 28 | 12:00 p.m. | at Kennesaw State | Fifth Third Bank StadiumKennesaw, GA | L 12–28 | 6,013 |
| November 4 | 12:00 p.m. | at Southern Utah | Eccles ColiseumCedar City, UT | L 6–35 | 3,023 |
| November 11 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 13 (FCS) Florida A&M | Bragg Memorial StadiumTallahassee, FL | L 0–28 | 11,314 |
| Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||

### 2024

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| August 24 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 4 (NAIA) College of Idaho | Simplot StadiumCaldwell, ID | L 7–45 | 3,735 |
| August 31 | 12:00 p.m. | at Northern Arizona | Walkup SkydomeFlagstaff, AZ | L 6–66 | 7,342 |
| September 7 | 1:00 p.m. | at Southern Oregon | Raider StadiumAshland, OR | L 7–46 | N/A |
| September 14 | 4:00 p.m. | at Missouri S&T | Allgood–Bailey StadiumRolla, MO | L 6–45 | 2,567 |
| September 21 | 10:30 a.m. | at Webber International | Warrior Turf FieldBabson Park, FL | L 20–63 | 469 |
| October 5 | 12:00 p.m. | at Lincoln (MO) | Dwight T. Reed StadiumJefferson City, MO | L 14–40 | 4,124 |
| October 12 | 4:00 p.m. | at Savannah State | Ted Wright StadiumSavannah, GA | L 18–30 | 1,760 |
| October 26 | 4:00 p.m. | at Northeastern State | Doc Wadley StadiumTahlequah, OK | L 0–48 | 4,976 |
| November 2 | 10:00 a.m. | at West Georgia | University StadiumCarrollton, GA | L 12–88 | 1,812 |
| November 9 | 8:00 a.m. | at Mercyhurst | Saxon StadiumErie, PA | L 0–66 | 540 |
| November 16 | 10:00 a.m. | at Florida Memorial | Ferguson Recreational ComplexMiami Gardens, FL | L 8–48 | 898 |
| Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Pacific time ||||||