I routinely go for bicycle rides that take me past the old Oakland Raiders headquarters, which is about 1.5 miles from my house.
I had noticed, over the years, several other organizations which were using that facility for various purposes, including: a local youth soccer league, the Oakland Roots semi-pro soccer team, etc.
TIL that there is another occasional tenant, the Lincoln University Oaklanders.
Even after nearly 40 years living in the Oakland area, I had no idea that Lincoln University existed. Even though my daughter's office is only one block away from Lincoln. My bad.
But why does Lincoln University have a football team?
Lincoln University is a private university in Oakland, California, United States. It enrolls more than 500 students in undergraduate- and graduate-level programs in business administration as well as an English-language program, certificate programs, and bachelor of science programs.
Not really the sort of institution you'd expect to find fielding a college football program.
The Chronicle's SFGate writers attempt to explain what's going on: For Calif.'s worst college football team, a 0-287 slump is the tip of a scandal:
Results against Lincoln count just as much as wins and losses against any blue-blood program. Thanks to the university’s accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission, known as WSCUC, which is up for review in February 2026, the Oaks qualify as a “countable opponent” for NCAA teams.
Even without standard governing structures in place, Lincoln has no problem filling out a schedule. As the old coaching adage goes: The best ability is availability. Lincoln is more than happy to occupy a blank space on a schedule for teams across the country.
And really, that's all you need to know, if you've been paying enough attention to the world to know what NIL is, and why the CFTC is now in charge of sports gambling for college sports.
It's a weird world we live in. But, at least now I know who the newest tenant at the old Raiders facility is.
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