Union College Athletics

Wally Bzdell '94 has been working with Union College student-athletes for more than a decade, providing a full range of sport psychology services and mental toughness training for athletes, high-level performers, and coaches. He was promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for Sport Psychology and Student-Athlete Well-Being at Union in July 2022.

Bzdell is an applied psychologist/sport psychologist with more than 25 years of applied work helping individuals build upon their strengths; overcome and remove professional and personal barriers to success; and improve their performances in their chosen endeavors. 

A New York State licensed psychologist, Bzdell co-authored the book, Character and Coaching: Building Virtue in Athletic Programs (2001) and has served as an adjunct faculty member at Siena College and Skidmore College as well as taught classes at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

A 1994 graduate of Union College and a member of the Union men's hockey team, Bzdell went on to earn a master's degree in counseling and psychological services from Springfield College in 1996 and a doctorate of education from Boston University in 2001. He also earned an associate’s degree in physical education from Vancouver Island University that he earned while playing junior hockey.