You may have seen an unusual opponent popping up on HBCU football schedules in the 2023 season.
No, it’s not the University of Virginia-Lynchburg, who appears to be improving and moving in the right direction, especially after spoiling Lane’s homecoming 45-40 three weeks ago.
Lincoln University-California has four HBCUs on their schedule this season, concluding with SWAC East champion Florida A&M, who will host Lincoln (CA) at Bragg Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Who is Lincoln University?
Lincoln University is a private college based in Oakland, California, that began sponsoring athletics in 2021.
The football team, known as the Oaklanders, plays as an independent while its other sports programs — men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer — are members of the South Western States Intercollegiate Conference, a league for small and private institutions of higher learning.
The Oaklanders are led by head coach Desmond Gumbs and have played all their games on the road this season. Lincoln is 0-3 against HBCUs in 2023, being outscored 151-25 by Texas Southern, Southern, and Tennessee State.
This might be the reason that FAMU decided to rest potential SWAC offensive player of the year, Jeremy Moussa, for Saturday’s game.
Following the path of another small school HBCU opponent
While not much is known about Lincoln University, they appear to be following in VUL’s footsteps as a program looking to build through tough competition and long road trips.
And if they need advice on how to psyche out or talk trash to an opponent, they can just go to the school basketball gym.
The men’s basketball program is led by Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Gary Payton Sr.
