Lincoln Oaklanders football

The Lincoln Oaklanders are the college football team representing Lincoln University of Oakland, California.

History
The program began in 2021 as an independent, and by September 2021 reportedly hoped to join the NCAA by 2022.

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. The head coach since 2021 is Desmond Gumbs (also athletic director ), while Desmond Bishop previously served as defensive coordinator during the debut year.

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 early portion of the 2023 season saw LU 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,former North Dakota running back Otis Weah,and former Stevenson Punter Owen Meister the Oaklanders briefly held a first-half lead before the Mustangs rallied to ultimately win 41-20.