Beyond the Jersey: Black Male College Athletes and the Construction of Self-Identity at historically White colleges and universities

Abstract

Drawing on the master narrative framework and strategic responsiveness to interest convergence, this qualitative study examines how Black male college athletes (BMCAs) understand and define their Black identity as male college athletes, and how intersecting identities (race, gender, class, and role status) shape self-awareness and day‑to‑day decisions in historically White colleges and universities (HWCUs). We conducted interviews with six Division I BMCAs at an HWCU and complemented these data with an archival analysis of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) forum featuring two additional BMCAs. Findings illuminate identity work as the central mechanism linking institutional context to outcomes along two pathways: (1) identity work → academic engagement, performance, and persistence, as identity negotiation organizes time allocation, help‑seeking, and interpretation of classroom feedback; and (2) identity work → athletic role demands, performance pressures, and well‑being, as racialized expectations and revenue‑sport logics intensify surveillance, role engulfment, and stress management. Although the nomenclature (e.g., NCAA; HWCUs) is U.S.-specific, these mechanisms map onto university sport systems internationally where racialized climates, classed opportunity structures, and commercialization shape athletes’ identities and choices. The study offers theoretically integrated, practice‑relevant implications for scholars and practitioners.