Oden played volleyball for Stanford University as a middle blocker and was named the 1990 NCAA Player of the Year.[2][3] Oden was the first to be named to the AVCA All-America first-team all four years of her collegiate eligibility (1989–1992).[4] In 1991, she won the Honda-Broderick Award (now the Honda Sports Award) as the nation's best female collegiate volleyball player.[5]
In 2001, Oden was inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame.[6]
Personal life
Oden's sisters, Kim and Elaina, were also Olympians who played on the United States national volleyball team.[3]
Oden made the news in 2007 when she was held in custody by Orange County sheriff deputies near her hometown of Irvine, California in relation to a reported incident.[7] She was released after being questioned and spending an hour and a half inside a police car.[7] She was found to have no connection with the incident in question, and her ordeal prompted local community leaders to form the Oden Commission to hold discussions on racial profiling between residents and law enforcement.[7][8]
Awards
Four-time AVCA All-American — 1989–1992
NCAA Player of the Year — 1990
Honda-Broderick Award — 1991
Goodwill Games silver medal — 1994
Pan American Games silver medal — 1995
Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame — 2001
References
^ ab"Beverly Oden". Olympedia. Archived from the original on July 17, 2023. Retrieved August 4, 2023.