Bison Spotlight: Mekhi Collins, senior student athlete
Since NDSU announced its move to the Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mountain West Conference in February, excitement around the 2026 season has continued to build. For fans, the transition marks the start of a new era of Bison Football. For senior wide receiver and team captain Mekhi Collins from Mankato, Minnesota, it represents the chance to be part of a historic moment he once wasn't sure would happen during his time in Fargo.
“I was shocked at first," said Collins, who is double-majoring in health education and physical education. "You hear chatter about it your first couple years and I just thought it'll happen eventually, probably not while I'm here. But knowing that it happened while I was here my senior year, I was hyped and I was ready to go."
Bison fans were equally hyped, selling out the regular season for single game tickets before a down was played in the FBS at the Fargodome. The crowd during the home opener on August 29 against Jacksonville State grabbed Collins’ attention for its surge in excitement.
"The Fargodome, I know it's been loud, but I haven't seen it that loud in a while," Collins said. “It was such a great feeling — running out the tunnel even was just such a surreal experience knowing that we're FBS now, we can play for anything at this point.”
Bison head coach Tim Polasek’s comments during his postgame press conference following the 33-7 victory over Jacksonville State echoed this sentiment.
“This has a chance to be really special for Fargo and for our university,” said Polasek. "The opportunity to play on national television and represent North Dakota ... [fans] are going to want to be a part of this. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Collins has noticed a shift on campus, as well, where playing at the FBS level has students more engaged with games.
“I’ve talked with some classmates, and a lot of them are definitely more tuned into games now,” Collins said. “I think everyone is excited because at this point you never know who could come into the Fargodome or where we could go.
“All those different adventures and different places we get to go to — like Hawaii or Las Vegas — it’s just a surreal experience. It's also so nice and so cool that we have such good support throughout the entire campus and university.”
Three weeks into their inaugural FBS season, the Bison are 3-0, including a thrilling 38-32 road win over Air Force to notch their first Mountain West Conference victory.
In his fourth season at NDSU, Collins has played in 39 games with 29 career receptions, 569 yards and seven touchdowns, including two trips to the end zone already in 2026. Though this is his final season of eligibility, Collins sees that the jump to FBS has set up the program for future success.
“In the years coming, for the younger guys on this team and the recruits that are coming in, they’re being left in great hands,” said Collins. “It’s a great opportunity for them to be in an era of Bison football that they can take a step up and really put us on the map. And it starts with this year.”
The 2026 campaign rolls on for Bison Football on Saturday when they travel to California for a 9:30 p.m. non-conference tilt against Sacramento State. The game will be aired nationally on ESPN, with radio coverage on the Bison Sports Network.
Limited numbers of single-game tickets have been released for select remaining Bison home games. Get tickets and be part of NDSU’s first FBS season at GoBison.com.
NDSU Marketing and Communications
Source: Mekhi Collins
Writer: Paul Teeple
Photo: Zachary Lucy