Abstract: This study examined the role of psychosocial self-concept factors (i.e., racial identity, athletic identity) in the college adjustment of student-athletes at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) by utilizing a within group racial design. Doing so represents an attempt to better understand the phenomenological experience of African American football players and the unique cultural context created at HBCU. Research utilizing within-race comparisons allows for more sensitive exploration of factors that differentiate between successful and unsuccessful student adjustment to college without using the majority (i.e., Caucasian) group as a de facto control group. Using both hierarchical and k-means cluster analytic techniques, this study produced three distinct student-athlete groups in terms of differing athletic and racial identities. Descriptive nomenclature were then generated for these clusters, resulting in the following groups of student-athletes based on their unique combinations of psychosocial variables: Low Sense of Identity and Racial Articulation, Strongly Racially Ideological yet Athletically Prioritized, and Socially Assimilated yet Racially Aspirational. The groups were then evaluated for an association with college adjustment. Findings indicate that student-athletes at HBCU report higher social adjustment to college regardless of their particular racial ideology, indicating an inclusive and nurturing environment for African American students and student-athletes alike. On the other hand, an overly salient athletic identity may subjugate racial identity and result in poorer college adjustment (i.e., Institutional Attachment, Social Adjustment). The latter results warrant further exploration into the interaction of racial and athletic identity across cultural contexts. The results of this study validate the role of HBCU in nurturing Black racial identities, and sheds light on the potentially deleterious nature of an over-identification with the athlete role. Furthermore, the results of this study have the potential to generate recommendations for college student service programs specifically tailored to meet the needs of 'at-risk' populations (e.g., racial/ethnic minority student-athletes in revenue producing sports) at PWI. In doing so, these student-athletes can receive assistance specific to their experiences, needs, beliefs, and goals, thus validating their importance on campus while facilitating their academic and lifelong success with the same attention given to ensuring their success on the athletic fields of competition.