Kevin was born and raised in New Orleans, La. but left after high school to attend Georgia Tech in Atlanta where he earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial and systems engineering. It was at Tech that Kevin learned to play bridge, often playing party bridge late into the night. During his last years at Tech, he worked the night shift on the assembly line at General Motors while attending Tech in the mornings. On mornings when he didn’t have classes, he played at the duplicate bridge club with his first regular partner, Robert Shepherd. 

In the late 70’s, after most of his college bridge playing friends had moved, he began to play duplicate bridge almost exclusively to continue his love of the game. Working nights and playing during the morning, he was introduced to the Atlanta bridge scene. His early bridge play was mostly with pick-up partners and the exposure to different ideas and methods sparked an already growing interest. Kevin began playing tournaments in 1980 and became a Life Master in 1982. During this time. he formed partnerships with Rick Haddon, Ace Allen, Chuck Whidden and Paul Romig. 

After playing for a few years, Kevin began to give back to bridge serving as vice president of the DBAA for 2 years. Though not serving on the DBAA board, he often worked behind the scenes to pull together nominating committees that would recruit candidates willing to volunteer their time to serve. During the late 1980s, Kevin was asked to serve on the conduct and ethics committee by its chairperson Ellie Miller. In late 1991, he assumed the role of chairman of the Unit 114 conduct and ethics committee. At the time this was probably the most visible and influential committee in the unit, though in the recent past this committee has had its impact dramatically reduced. Kevin has held this position for the last 21 years. Kevin has also served as an Atlanta Area Representative on the Unit board in the early 2000s. In the late 1990s, he was asked by the District 7 president Bruce Reeves to replace Jerry Helms who was retiring as the chairman for the District 7 conduct and ethics committee and has held that position since then. In 2004, Bruce Reeves acting as president of the ACBL, nominated Kevin for membership on the ACBL Disciplinary Committee. He continues to serve on this committee which meets on an as-needed basis at the National Championships to hear and rule on cases involving the ACBL and its members. 

Kevin has said that “While playing in the 1980s, the C&E committee was the one committee on which I hoped to be asked to serve. Being considered to be a part of these committees has been one of the major highlights of my bridge career. I have always tried to present a fair and even-handed approach to committee hearings and activities while understanding that the committee often deals with members during their worst moments.”

In the mid-1980s, Kevin partnered with Patty Tucker after her move to Atlanta. They became close friends and, then after 20 years, they married in 2006. Patty, a Hall of Fame inductee herself says of Kevin, “He is kind, caring, giving and honest. Kevin is not only the best husband one could ask for, but also the best friend.”

As a player, Kevin has attained the rank of Grand Life Master and has accumulated over 10,000 masterpoints with numerous regional and sectional victories. Kevin currently ranks 8th on the Unit 114 lifetime masterpoint list while being one of just two living grand life masters in Georgia and one of just seven in District 7. He has represented District 7 four times in the Grand National Teams and 3 times in the North American Pairs. In March of 2000 playing with his long-time partner he won his first National Championship. The list of Kevin’s accomplishments has included many other top finishes in national events including 11 “top ten” and 20 plus “top fifteen” finishes, most of them partnering with his wife and partner Patty Tucker.  
Mike Kovacich, another Georgia Bridge Hall of Fame member, says of Kevin, “Besides being one of the best players in Georgia, Kevin is also one of the nicest. He is a delight to have as a teammate, in that it doesn't matter how much you screw up, Kevin never says a word. He is a class act who will be a great addition to our Hall of Fame. He has worked for years in Bridge and has agreed to do some of the non-glamorous and essentially unsatisfying but necessary work of taking care of our discipline process in District 7.” 

With his induction in 2012, Kevin Collins becomes the 10th member of the Georgia Bridge Hall of Fame in 2012.