Rodney Tention was born on May 27, 1963. He began his collegiate career at Air Force where he started 23 of 27 games as a true freshman during the 1983-1984 season and averaged 6.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per match. He then spent the 1984-1985 season at Grossmont Community College in El Cajon, CA, where he was named Pacific Coast Conference Most Valuable Player and was an All-California Community College Athletic Association selection. He also set program single season records for assists (259), averaging 8.1 per game.
He transferred to USF and played basketball for the Dons from 1985 to 1988. As a player, Tention averaged 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game during a three-year career at San Francisco. A two-time All-West Coast Conference selection, Tention was also a two-year captain for the Dons. As a senior during the 1987-1988 season, he averaged 11.0 points per game and finished fourth among WCC players with 1.9 steals per game and fifth with 3.8 assists per game.
He graduated with a Bachelors in Sociology in 1988 and earned a Masters in Public Administration from the College of Notre Dame in 1995. Afterwards, he went into coaching. He was Head basketball Coach at College of Notre Dame and Loloya Marymount. He was Assistant Coach at Stanford, at San Diego, and at San Jose State. He currently coaches at Saint Francis High School in Mountain View, CA.Â
