The Lincoln Oaklanders football program were the college football team representing Lincoln University of Oakland, California. Despite playing multiple NCAA teams, Lincoln was not affiliated with the NCAA or NAIA and played as an independent traveling team with no home stadium. The school's first football team was fielded in 2021. Athletic director Desmond Gumbs was the head football coach from the team's inaugural 2021 season until its discontinuation in 2026.
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 31-29. 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.
Throughout the team's existence, Lincoln played its games exclusively as the visitor. Following the departure of the nearby Oakland Raiders in the 2023 offseason, 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.
After a winless 2025 season that included canceled games against Davenport and West Alabama, the school announced it would shut down its football program for the 2026-27 season. Coach Desmond Gumbs stepped down as head coach, but stayed as athletic director.
Season-by-season results
2021 Desmond Gumbs Independent 1–8 2022 2–8 2023 0–12 2024 0–11 2025 0–8 Totals
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
References