Bill Bjorness enters his 17th year as head coach of the Hartwick College men's lacrosse team in 2014-2015.
Bjorness achieved his 100th victory in the 2012 season finale against Alfred (10-9). He has the second most wins in program history (109) and trails only his predecessor Rory Whipple.
He has led the Hawks to seven postseason berths in the past 16 years. In 2011, the Hawks posted a 10-9 record on their way to the ECAC Tournament for the first time in six years.
Bjorness started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Keuka from 1986-88. He then served as an assistant coach at Hartwick from 1989-1991.
After his stint as an assistant at Hartwick, Bjorness moved on to become an assistant at his alma mater, RIT, from 1991-1993. He then became the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Dartmouth College from 1994-1998.
With then head coach Rory Whipple, Bjorness helped turn Hartwick's lacrosse program around during those seasons. The Hawks won the ECAC Tournament with a big 17-14 victory over RIT in 1991.
When Whipple left Hartwick after the 1998 season, Bjorness took over the controls of the program for his old boss.
An active participant on the national coaching scene in the off-season, Bjorness has been on the coaching staff at the Top-205 Lacrosse Camp in Baltimore since its inception in 1988. He also serves on the staff at the Peak-200 Lacrosse Camp in Springfield, Mass.
On the international level, Bjorness has served as an assistant coach for the Iroquois Men's National Team at the International Lacrosse Federation (ILF) World Championships. In 1994, he was the defensive coordinator for the Iroquois team that finished in fifth place at Manchester, England. Bjorness returned in 2002 and helped the team earn a fourth-place medal at Perth, Australia. He doubled as the general manager and assistant coach for the Iroquois at the 2003 ILF Boys Under-19 World Championships at Towson University (Md.), helping the squad finish fifth overall.
In 2006, Bjorness served as co-head coach for the Iroquois National team at the ILF World Championships in London, Ontario, Canada. He piloted the team to an upset of Australia in the preliminary round and became the first team from outside the "big three" (Canada, the United States, and Australia) to defeat one of them. The Iroquois advanced to the medal round, but fell to Australia in the bronze medal game.
In 2008, Bjorness captured his first medal as the Iroquois captured the bronze in Coquitlam, British Columbia. He was a defensive coach with the team. He will serve as offensive coordinator with the Dutch National Team at the world championships in Denver in July.Â
As a student at RIT, Bjorness was a three-time All-American lacrosse player and a left wing on the ice hockey team that won the national championship in 1983.
As a sophomore, Bjorness led the NCAA in scoring with 86 points and was selected as a first-team All-American in lacrosse. He was honored as a second-team pick as a junior and returned to the first team as a senior.
The captain of the lacrosse team as a senior for the Tigers, his teams went to the Final Four twice and participated in the NCAA Tournament in all four of his seasons (1983-1986), while compiling an overall record of 49-10. Bjorness finished a stellar four-year career with 152 goals and 112 assists. He was honored for his athletic accomplishments when the school inducted him into the Rochester Institute of Technology Sports Hall of Fame on November 13, 1999.
Bjorness also serves as the Chair of the Empire 8 Conference Men's Lacrosse Committee and has served three years on the NCAA Division III All-American Committee.
Bjorness resides in Oneonta with his son Adam and daughter Addison.
