NORFOLK, Va. – Nick Collins, a former Bethune-Cookman defensive back and Super Bowl Champion with the Green Bay Packers, has been announced for induction into the 2018 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame, in a press release sent out Thursday, Nov. 9, from the MEAC Office in Norfolk, Virginia.
 
The MEAC Hall of Fame highlights former student-athletes, coaches, university and conference administrators, as well as special contributors, who have enriched the legacy of the conference since its inception in 1970. Enshrinees were selected by a 13-person committee made up of administrators and representatives from member institutions.
 
Nick Collins was a three-year starter at free safety (2002-04) and the captain of one of the most successful football teams in Wildcats history. Known as a ferocious hitter, the free safety earned All-American and First Team All-MEAC honors when he led the league with six interceptions in 2004.
 
He was picked in the second round of the NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers in 2005, going on to earn three Pro Bowl appearances and scoring a touchdown in the Packers' Super Bowl XLV victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers. After retiring in 2015, Collins was named to the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame in 2016.
 
Collins is the son of former Wildcats quarterback Willie Collins, a consensus choice of the coaches of his era as one of the greatest athletes to ever lead a Bethune-Cookman football team.
 
"This is simply a great honor, and I am so proud of this young man," said Lynn W. Thompson, BCU Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. "Nick Collins embodies and represents everything that a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University is to be, as well as being a model citizen in his community and beyond.
 
"I am fortunate to have seen his career at Bethune-Cookman blossom, and then watch him go on to a great career in the National Football League. I could not be happier for Nick and his family on this outstanding accomplishment."
 
In 2016, Nick Collins was inducted into the Bethune-Cookman Athletics Hall of Fame.

Nick Collins is to be the eighth MEAC Hall of Fame member from Bethune-Cookman University, joining Rosina Pearson, Jack "Cy" McClairen, Lloyd "Tank" Johnson,  JD Hall, Lynn W. Thompson, Rashean Mathis Mathis and Amber Jackson.
 
Joining Collins in this year's MEAC Hall of Fame Class is Chartric Darby (Football, S.C. State), Charlene Johnson (Administrator, S.C. State), Ja Nina Lee (Women's Basketball, Morgan State) and Jay Walker (Football, Howard).
 
The inductees will be enshrined during an awards brunch on Thursday, March 8, starting with a welcome gathering at 9:30 a.m. at the Sheraton Norfolk Waterside Hotel in Norfolk, Virginia. The Hall of Fame class will also be recognized before the 6 p.m. men's basketball game during the 2018 MEAC Basketball Tournament on March 8 at the Norfolk Scope Arena.
 
"I would like to congratulate the 2018 Hall of Fame class for all their accomplishments, both athletically and professionally," said Dr. Dennis E. Thomas, MEAC Commissioner. "The honorees have made significant contributions to their families, communities, institutions, and this conference. They are to be commended."
 
The inaugural Hall of Fame class was inducted on May 29, 1981 during a 10-year anniversary banquet in Greensboro, North Carolina. Since its establishment, the MEAC Hall of Fame has enshrined 143 people, including the class of 2018.
 
Tickets for the induction brunch are $35 per seat or $300 per table (10 people) and can be purchased by calling the MEAC office at (757) 951-2055.
 
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