When Marion Played Sports – the Collins’ played it best

By Jackie Hunt
Contributing Writer
When Linda Andrews married Glenn Collins 39 years ago, it was predictable that they might have tall and talented offspring. After all, she was 6 feet tall and a record setting star for Northeast Louisiana University’s Lady Bulldogs. Her husband was 6 ft 5 in and had been a very good player at nearby Linville High. Both agreed that regardless of what talents or attributes their future children acquired their first and foremost focus would be education.
The pair ended up with three sons and you have to give them passing grades on all measures of success in raising the boys. All played college athletics, stacked up a lot of degrees and moved on to high achievement in the real world. Chancellor, the eldest, who now holds a Master of Business Administration, is now a corporate accounts director for Roche Pharmaceutical. He earned his undergrad degree while playing basketball at Division 1, University of Wisconsin Green Bay. As a Phoenix he appeared in 83 games, while starting six. The 6’ 4” power forward was a member of the 1980-81 squad that amassed a 23-9 before moving to Division 1 the following year.
The youngest Collins son, Chad was a two-sport player at Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill. In addition to his time as a member of the basketball team, he was a long jumper for the Track and Field team. He was good enough to earn the team’s Most Valuable Freshman award. After majoring in Liberal Arts at Augustana he went on to acquire bachelors and master’s degrees in Behavioral Science and Mental Health Counseling, respectively. That’s two students and four degrees.
There didn’t appear to be any middle child complex with Chandlor (aka Scooby). The tallest at 6’ 7”, he paved the way for his younger brother, preceding him to Augustana for the 2005-2006 season. After playing sparingly as a freshman he played in 82 of the next 83 games for the Vikings. This was no small feat as Augustana was a prominent program always in the D3 top 25 rankings. They finished ranked in the top five for five consecutive years.
Playing under the legendary coach Grey Giovanine, Chandlor was a key fixture in winning conference titles in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Giovanine, who boasted 20 consecutive winning seasons, was D3 Coach of the Year 3 time and owns 514 career wins, chose to name Collins a captain for his senior year. Collins, a relentless defender, had led the team in rebounding the previous year and did so again as a senior when he averaged 9.8 boards per game. His senior rebounding totals were tops in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Scooby earned his undergraduate degree in political science at Augustana and followed that with a Doctor of Law degree from Drake University. He now serves as the Chief Deputy Clery of Court for the Southern District of Iowa. He went back to his Alma Mater in 2009 to speak at an event called Augustana Now. His message (available on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOiHUjAZpZE) was about hard work, self-reflection/acceptance, God and faith. Stuff that makes parents proud.
Three sons, three athletes and six degrees. What more could parents ask for? “Glenn and I are very proud of them,” their mother says, adding, “Their athletics and degrees are great, but we are most proud of their life achievements. They are great human beings.”
What more could parents ask for?