Binge drinking has been identified as a major problem plaguing colleges across America. The purpose of this study was to examine the alcohol usage rates of college athletes and non-athletes, their motives for alcohol use, perceptions of alcohol use by their peers, and alcohol consumption based on selected demographic characteristics. Participants (N=208) were composed of 121 student-athletes and 87 non-athletes from a midsize Midwestern University. The student-athlete group consisted of athletes from men's and women's track and field (n = 36), men's and women's basketball (n = 20), volleyball (n = 13), soccer (n = 12), softball (n = 11), baseball (n = 14) and wrestling (n = 15). The participants completed a 20-item questionnaire assessing their alcohol usage rates, their perceptions of alcohol use by their peers, and their motive for using alcohol. All items were modified from previous studies and validated for this study. The results of this study indicated the athlete group had a significant higher rate of alcohol use than non-athletes, t = -.947, p < .05. The finding was supported by previous studies (Moulton, et al., 1999). However, the athletes perceived that non-athletes used alcohol more often than did athletes. Most of the participants reported that their main reason for alcohol use was recreational or social purposes, which was more inline with findings of NCAA drug and alcohol survey in 2001. Wrestlers had a significant higher rate of alcohol use than volleyball players over the past 12 months and a significant higher rate of alcohol use than volleyball, softball and track over the past 30 days. However, this study also found that male athletes had a significant higher rate of alcohol use than female athletes, which may attribute to the difference of wrestlers and the other female sports. Keyword(s): athletics/sports, national issues, student issues