Chris Bordano

Bordano was born in San Antonio, Texas. He attended Southwest High School, where he played as a linebacker. As a senior, he tallied 178 tackles (100 solo) with 3 fumble recoveries. He received All-District 28-5A and Defensive Most Valuable Player honors.

He also competed in the hurdles, 100 meters, 4 × 400 metres relay and in the pole vault.

Bordano accepted a football scholarship from Southern Methodist University. As a freshman in 1993, he missed the first 2 contests and did not enter the starting lineup until the eighth game of the season. He recorded 63 tackles (37 solo). He had 14 tackles (one for loss) in his first start against Texas A&M University. He made 19 tackles (13 solo), one forced fumble and one pass defensed against Rice University. He had 22 tackles against Texas Tech University.

As a sophomore in 1994, he missed the final 3 games. He led the SWC Conference with an average of 13.9 tackles per game, posting 111 tackles (72 solo), 2 stops for losses and 3 fumble recoveries. He had 17 tackles (10 solo) and one forced fumble against the University of New Mexico. He made 18 tackles (14 solo) and one fumble recovery against the University of North Carolina. He ad 15 tackles (11 solo) against the University of Texas.

In 1995, he was injured during fall drills and was lost for the season. As a junior in 1996, he returned to lead his team and rank fifth in the Western Athletic Conference with 124 tackles.[1] He had 19 tackles (10 solo) against the University of Missouri. He made 17 tackles (8 solo) against Texas Christian University.

As a senior in 1997, he started the first 6 games and the last 3 contests at middle linebacker. He led the team with 120 tackles (67 solo) and was named the Western Athletic Conference Mountain Division Defensive Player of the Year. He left ranked fifth in the SMU's career tackles list (420) and became just the tenth player in school history to be named to three All-conference teams.[2]