Former varsity athletes who strives at N.C. A&T have the opportunity to be honored in the N.C. A&T Sports Hall of Fame.
In 2018, Malveata Johnson Collins was honored to be part of the Hall of Fame. Collins was recognized as an excellent basketball player as coach Mamie Jone and UNC-Chapel Hill sought her out. After looking into each school, N.C. A&T’s excellent engineering program attracted her.
She played on the N.C. A&T women’s basketball team from 1997-2001. Collins received a scholarship, balancing her athletic career and academics. During her time at N.C. A&T, she majored in architecture engineering and did multiple community services. Collins carries valuable skills learned as a basketball player and engineering student. She holds skills such as professionalism, how to approach interviews, sportsmanship, and more.
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Her accomplishments include being involved with Athletes in Action during her freshman season. It completely changed the course of Johnson's life and the intensity of her game. She played with AIA in Miami, Bolivia, and Brazil. After seeing her play one of the South American teams offered her $14,000 per month to leave school and play professionally. Once again, she chose N.C. A&T.Â
She had a breakout sophomore season where she was named MEAC Player of the Year. She also led the nation in rebounding and blocked shots. She is the Aggies all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots. In addition, she was a four-time All-Academic MEAC team member.Â
Ultimately, N.C. A&T opened many doors for her. She found her long life best friend, her husband, and became part of the Hall of Fame. Collins is incredibly proud of her accomplishments during her college career. After her years at N.C. A&T, Collins became a teacher alongside her husband, Vernon Paul Collins, Sr. She encourages her students to look into N.C. A&T to further their education and strives to pave the way for young girls to succeed in basketball.
Collin overall feels extremely honored and blessed to be part of the N.C. A&T family.
