The Marques Colston Fellowship in Health

Marques Colston is the founder of Marques Colston Enterprises, a transformational education company. He started "MCE" to provide personal and professional development to athletes and fellow entrepreneurs, offering them the roadmap for success he wishes he had. After launching and advising several businesses, he understands the rigors and challenges that face today's athletes and entrepreneurs as they build brands and scale businesses. It was through years of hands-on experience in business that Colston honed his wealth of expertise. The first foray into the business world was as a franchise owner in professional football--an area he knows well. During his time with the team, he led everything from sales and marketing to sponsorships and football operations. He quickly learned that the day-to-day commitment was more substantial than expected while still maintaining a successful career on the field. Yet his initial motivation to create employment opportunities, develop community outreach programs, and give opportunities to other players led him to stay for three years before moving on to other opportunities. Since then, he's owned, partnered, invested, and advised over 25 companies.

Colston's ability to survey the field and find unique advantages has led to various opportunities over the years. Currently, he serves on the advisory committee for NFL Players Inc., the licensing arm of the NFL Players Association. He launched Venture Investing and Entrepreneurship for Professional Athletes , an executive education program for current and former professional athletes at the prestigious Columbia Business School. Has partnered with his alma mater Hofstra University to create the Marques Colston Fellowship, which provides experiential learning opportunities for student-athletes in health majors. And starting this fall semester, he will teach a class at the University of New Orleans on entrepreneurship and life skills to undergraduate students. His passion for education and giving back to young athletes and students of color has led him down a path he didn't anticipate. Still, he strives every day to make a huge impact.

Marques Colston is a former 10-year NFL veteran. He is a Super Bowl champion and inductee in the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame. While an active player, he was the all-time franchise leader in receptions, receiving yards, and total touchdowns. Colston is a proud husband and father. He resides in the Greater Philadelphia area with his wife, Emily, a real estate professional and health and fitness expert, and their two children, Austin and Mia.