Honorary Captain Q and A: Marvin Caston

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A former Arkansas fullback and an associate director with the Razorback Foundation, Marvin Caston is the honorary captain for Saturday’s game against LSU. The recipient of the Chism Reed Outstanding Senior Leadership Award in 1999, Caston was a four-year letterwinner for the Razorbacks from 1996-99.

Caston played for the 1998 Razorbacks team that shared the SEC Western Division title, played Michigan in the Citrus Bowl and finished the year ranked No. 16 in the nation. He also played for the 1999 team that went 8-4, defeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl and finished the year ranked No. 17 in the nation. He graduated with a bachelor’s of arts and a master’s in education.

He began his professional career with the Razorbacks in 2005, serving as the Assistant Athletic Director for compliance. He also served as chairman of the “A” Club Membership Drive, co-director of the Athletic Prevention Programming & Leadership Education Program and Assistant Athletic Director in the student life office.

What does it mean to be honored by Coach Bielema and the football program as it is today?

“It gives me a great deal of pride. We have great mutual respect for each other. For someone of his stature to recognize my contributions and decide that I would be the best person to represent this program, and especially me being from Louisiana, it means a lot to me and my family.”

What was it like being a part of the turnaround that occurred during the 1998 and 1999 seasons? How does it compare to the turnaround under Coach Bielema?

“It was a culmination. I saw what Coach (Danny) Ford was trying to do in 1995, taking the 1995 group to the SEC Championship. Arkansas had just joined the league in 1992, and then in 1995, my redshirt freshman season, we saw that we could really compete in this league. You can see what Coach Bielema is building, just like you could see what Coach Ford was building and what Coach (Houston) Nutt was building. Coach Bielema has our program heading in the right direction. You can see it with the discipline of the team, in particular, and what he requires off the field. You do those little things off the field, it translates to wins, because you have the discipline that it takes to carry out your assignments and win games.”

What is your most memorable moment as a Razorback player?

“It was my first touchdown as an offensive player, in Little Rock (against Louisiana-Monroe). I will never forget that. It was my first time scoring. That was pretty exciting. Most of the year before, I was a blocking back. I was blocking for Madre Hill, (Chrys) Chukwuma, Rod Stinson and Fred Talley. We had running backs on and on. We ran the ball. It was fun getting the ball thrown to me and getting it in the end zone. It was even more special because it was against one of my high school teammates and friends. That was pretty fun to score the touchdown and have him on the other team.”

What made you want to work in college athletics? How did you get your start?

“I got my start in college athletics because of Coach (Frank) Broyles and Katie Hill giving me an opportunity to be a graduate assistant. I wanted to work in college athletics because I saw the things that were right about college athletics, having played and having been a student-athlete. College athletics is all about student-athletes. I was a student-athlete and then I get to work on the other side and see how everything worked. When you’re a student-athlete, you show up and everything is laid out for you, practice schedule and class schedule, people doing everything. But then as a graduate assistant in the business office and compliance office, I had an opportunity to see what it takes to run an entire athletics department and it was pretty exciting.”

How does your experience as a student-athlete help you as an administrator? What is that perspective like?

“Sports are the greatest teachers in the world because of all the lessons you go through. You work as a team and you experience the ups and downs of a play and you experience the ups and downs of a season. It’s a microcosm of what you see in administration, the good and the bad, and it teaches you how to stay composed and be confident in what you’re doing and get things done for the student-athlete.”

What is it like going to work for your alma mater every day and what is your favorite part of your job?

“The fans. When you boil college athletics down to it, there are two big groups: the student-athletes and the donors and the fans. I got to experience the student-athlete side of it, and now I get to experience the interaction and meeting the people who make our program go, and that’s our donors and fans. That’s the fun part. I get to meet people from all over and they have one common goal, which is to see the Razorbacks be the best that they can be and support them in being the best that they can be in every single sport.”

What are you looking forward to most about the LSU weekend?

“I’m looking forward to taking my kids down on the field. I’m looking forward to opening their minds to being down there and seeing what this fan base and donor base is all about and see how special this place is from a field level. It’s going to be pretty exciting and I look forward to experiencing it with my kids.”