The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between motivations for alcohol consumption, motivations linked to sporting success and alcohol consumption alcohol in a population of student athletes. Interaction effects for each type of drinking motive and achievement motivation were observed. Results indicated that there was a relationship between all three ADS subscales and alcohol consumption, as well as one SOQ subscale and alcohol consumption, but these relationships were moderated by both gender and sporting status. The implications of these results are discussed below. Initial analysis revealed the prevalence of heavy alcohol consumption among this student-athlete population; with 68.9% of participants scoring +8 on the AUDIT. This is consistent with and adds to the growing body of research regarding high rates of hazardous drinking behaviors among college athletes (Brenner and Swanik, 2007; Doumas, 2013; Leichliter et al., 1998; Nelson and Wechsler, 2001; Weschler et al., 1997). Additionally, as expected, we found higher levels of hazardous alcohol use among male athletes than among female athletes. This is consistent with previous research (O'Brien et al., 2007; Weaver et al., 2013) highlighting significant gender differences in alcohol consumption and confirming the need to control for this variable. Young and White (2000) suggest that women tend to be more health conscious than men; and it is therefore possible that women drink less due to the negative health consequences associated with heavy alcohol consumption. The ADS was used to examine sport-specific psychosocial reasons for alcohol consumption; In support of the hypothesis, the ADS predicted a substantial proportion of the unique variance in AUDIT scores. ...... middle of paper ......8+ on AUDIT). In this sample, 68.9% of participants fell into this category. This rate is consistent with previous research on UK university students (Heather et al., 2011; Webb et al., 1996) and highlights the importance of campus drinking culture. Although it has been suggested that most students become more responsible with age (Moore et al., 2005) and as they leave college and take on roles of responsibility (Heather et al., 2011); there is a clear need to provide better education and support to this “high risk” population. In summary, it is clear that alcohol consumption remains a cause for concern. The prevalence of such high levels of hazardous alcohol consumption demonstrated in the study raises important questions regarding alcohol counseling and prevention strategies used in English universities, or the lack of.