Mobolaji Iyabode Akiode (born May 12, 1982) is an American-born former

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

women's basketball Women's basketball is the team sport of basketball played by women. It began being played in 1892, one year after men's basketball, at Smith College in Massachusetts. It spread across the United States, in large part via women's college compet ...

player.https://www.linkedin.com/in/mobolaji-akiode-bb15a32a

Early life

Born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, her family relocated to Nigeria shortly thereafter. Akiode moved back to the United States when she was nine and was raised in

Maplewood, New Jersey Maplewood is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is an inner-ring suburban bedroom community of New York City in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's populatio ...

. She was bullied for her height, but excelled academically and athletically and led

Columbia High School Columbia High School may refer to: *Columbia High School (Huntsville, Alabama) *Columbia High School (Georgia) *Columbia High School (Florida) *Columbia High School (Idaho) *Columbia High School (Illinois) *Columbia High School (Mississippi), a Mis ...

to the 1998 state championship before graduating in 1999. Akiode earned a scholarship to play college basketball at

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

. At Fordham, Akiode won all-conference honors in her senior year and was the eighth Fordham player to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her career. She also earned a tryout with the WNBA's

Detroit Shock The Detroit Shock were a Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) team based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. They were the 2003, 2006, and 2008 WNBA champions. Debuting in 1998, the Shock were one of the league's first expansion franchises. ...

following her collegiate career.Fordham's Mobolaji Akiode receives tryout with the WNBA's Detroit Shock
Fordhamsports.com. 1 May 2003

Education

Akiode studied Accounting at Gabelli School of business, Fordham University, she graduated in 2004. She obtained her Masters of Business Administration from the

New York University Stern School of Business The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business (commonly referred to as NYU Stern, The Stern School of Business, or simply Stern) is the business school of New York University, a private research university based in New York City. I ...

in 2014.

College career

Akiode earned a scholarship to play college basketball at

. At Fordham, Akiode won all-conference honors in her senior year and was the eighth Fordham player to record 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in her career. She also earned a tryout with the WNBA's

following her collegiate career. She was inducted into the Fordhams University basketball Hall of fame in 2014.

Fordham statistics

Source

International career

Akiode was member of the

Nigeria women's national basketball team The Nigeria women's national basketball team, also known as D'Tigeress, represents Nigeria in international women's basketball competition, and are regulated by the Nigeria Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Nigeria. Nige ...

at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

and

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

. She graduated from Fordham with a degree in accounting. After graduation, she landed a job to work for ESPN. She moved back to Nigeria in 2010 to start a basketball camp. In 2014, she was named one of ESPNW's Impact 25.

Basketball camp

Akiode organizes an annual basketball camp called the Hope for Girls basketball camp which seeks to develop and mentor girls in the knowledge of basketball. She has created opportunities for women to play basketball and study outside of Nigeria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akiode, Mobolaji 1982 births Living people Basketball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Nigeria Basketball players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Columbia High School (New Jersey) alumni Fordham Rams women's basketball players Nigerian women's basketball players Nigerian expatriate basketball people in the United States Olympic basketball players for Nigeria American basketball players of Nigerian descent American emigrants to Nigeria New York University Stern School of Business alumni People from Maplewood, New Jersey Basketball players from Essex County, New Jersey Nigeria women's national basketball team players