Northern Illinois University Athletics

A cornerstone figure in the NIU Athletics Department for over 20 years, Robert Collins worked as both a coach and an administrator with the Huskies.  

Collins originally came to DeKalb in 1986 as a men's basketball assistant coach under Jim Rosborough, joining the Huskies following eight highly successful years as a head coach in Chicago at Calumet High School (1978-80) and Robeson High School (1980-86). Collins was named the 1984 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association District 2 Coach of the Year and won go on to be inducted into the Chicago Public School Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. 

During his three seasons on the Huskie men's basketball staff, Collins recruited Hall of Famers Donnell Thomas and Donald Whiteside, who would help lead NIU to the NCAA Tournament in 1991. Collins moved on from NIU to join the basketball staff at DePaul in 1989 before returning to DeKalb in 1992 as an administrator. 

Collins oversaw numerous departments during his tenure as an administrator, was instrumental in the hiring of Hall of Fame football coach Joe Novak and also oversaw the expansion and renovation of numerous NIU athletic facilities. Collins was the second African American at NIU to hold the position of Associate Athletic Director and was named the Senior Associate Athletic Director of the Year by the All-American Football Foundation in 2006. Collins became NIU's Deputy Athletic Director and served as Interim Athletic Director in 2008.