Friday, October 16, 2009

Is Evan Starkman Lying About Cornell?

Somewhat randomly, I stumbled upon an interview from back in 2007 with Evan Starkman, the former Cornell student who was recruited for an MTV reality show and has since appeared on several MTV programs.

In the interview, Starkman asserts, not once but twice, that he received a "hockey scholarship" to Cornell.

Not only is there no record of Starkman on Cornell's roster in any year in which he would have been in Ithaca, but Cornell, as an Ivy League school, does not give any athletic scholarships.

Evan, for those of us who might not know, maybe you can tell us a little bit about yourself before you got into the MTV business. What exactly were you doing before Fresh Meat and The Duel?Before Fresh Meat I was just going to college. I go to Cornell University in Ithaca. When I was on Fresh Meat I was a Junior (in college). I actually stayed enrolled in school and left for Fresh Meat, which we filmed in October and November of 2005. I'm a Liberal Arts major and I do an independent major, which means I wrote my own and I'm studying social movements and how to create change in the world. So, that's it. I'm Canadian, but I ended up in the states on a hockey scholarship to Cornell. So, it's kind of crazy how a Canadian winds up in the states not really a huge fan of the show. We actually didn't even have MTV in Canada, so I didn't grow up watching the Real World. I didn't grow up as a fan of the show, and then my Junior year, they had a casting call for Key West in Ithaca, like right outside my apartment in this bar right in College Town by Cornell, and I just went with a friend and, you know, six months later I'm on the show. And since then, after Fresh Meat, I went back to school to finish up my Junior year and I'm trying to finish up my Senior year right now.
Are you still on a hockey scholarship at Cornell?
I'm still on a scholarship, but as we know, when I left Fresh Meat I got a hernia, which definitely kept me off the ice for that whole year. And now my life has been so crazy with school and life after a reality show that I've never really gotten back on the ice. So, I don't know if I'm going to pursue it after college, but the college hockey thing is over for me, which is sad. I still get on the ice and still practice and hang out, but my life is just too busy right now and filled with other things.
What gives? Did Starkman play any hockey at Cornell? If so, when? And why would he claim to have received a hockey scholarship?

There is a Michael Evan Starkman in the Cornell database. But there are still no records of him playing hockey at Cornell. And an interview with Starkman for SI On Campus, conducted by the former Sports Editor of the Cornell Daily Sun, makes no mention of his former hockey playing. Anyone have more information?

56 comments:

  1. Sounds like you found an Andy Bernard-esque character. Notice his college? CE -- That's continuing education I believe.

    The scholarship question is an interesting one. I have no doubt that this joker didn't receive a scholarship. But I know many people who claim that their rich athlete friends somehow has *financial need*.

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  2. He was on club hockey I believe

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  3. Ivy League schools don't have athletic scholarships but have tons of financial need scholarships which amazingly enough, often go to strong athletes.

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  4. I think it's possible he could have misspoke or misstated his scholarship. Also he's from Canada whose educational setup is surprisingly different in a lot of little ways, so who knows "hockey scholarship" might to him as a Canadian have a different meaning than to us. Like someone else suggested, he could have gotten a scholarship for something else, merit or need, as well as played hockey. So in his mind he is playing hockey, with a scholarship, i.e., hockey scholarship.

    I've watched pretty much all the many seasons he's been on, surprisingly enough, he's probably the least douche-baggy of most of the goons featured on this show. He's very smart, an incredible athlete (his team has won pretty much every season) and funny. He doesn't really seem to have any enemies like most other people on that show do.

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  5. Thanks for the comment. I haven't ever seen him on TV so I'm not familiar with his on-screen persona.

    I disagree with your first paragraph for a couple of reasons. First, he never played, or was recruited for, varsity hockey at Cornell. So there certainly wouldn't have been any confusion about a hockey scholarship. He could not have possibly been so stupid as to think he was receiving any money to play club hockey. And second, Cornell does not give scholarships. He may have received financial aid, but to call that a "hockey scholarship" seems like a complete lie. Point is, he's claiming that Cornell recruited him to play hockey and gave him scholarship money to play hockey. This is incorrect.

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  6. http://www.achahockey.org/game_details.php?game_id=76253

    his real name is Michael Evan Starkman

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  7. Is it just me, or does he never mention receiving a hockey scholarship directly from Cornell-- people do get outside scholarships, after all. It seems probable that this is the case for him.

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  8. It's possible, but I don't think anyone would give him a scholarship to go to Cornell to play club hockey. And the whole thing would be probably be a violation of Ivy League rules.

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  9. Dudes from Perth Ontario, name is Michael..prob felt dumb saying that, hence made up hockey scholarship story..

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    Replies
    1. yep he is, he was a few grades up from me in school, i think he was called bones or some shit haha

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  10. He got a scholarship to a college in upstate new york and transferred to cornell. He didn't actually play for the team but was on the practice squad.

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  11. Yes, his real name is Michael (Mike), I knew him at Cornell. He played hockey his freshman year at St. Lawrence. When he transfered his sophomore year to Cornell he could not officially join varsity because of NCAA rules. From my recollection, he then played club hockey the rest of his time at Cornell. He is also a pretty smart guy and certainly could have gotten some scholarships which were partly influenced by his athletic abilities.

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  12. He never played hockey at SLU. He did go around telling people he was on a hockey scholarship though. He walked on and was allowed to attend practises, but eventually was cut from the practise roster. Never an official member of the SLU hockey team

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  13. If you look up his full name - there is a record on the Cornell site for him. It is not unusual for a Canadian to be in the US on sports scholarships. I've had a number of friends down for scholarships. Cheers!

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  14. His real name is Michael - I've known him since he was 5 years old...and he's never had a reputation for being particularly honest. Just sayin'

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  15. Why do you care so much?? Mikey was simplifying it. He likes to play hockey and received a scholarship. Do you think your Sherlock Holmes or something, just drop it!! MES is a rad dude :)

    -Maddy <3

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  16. What the are you guys reading? That last link obviously showed he played 5 games at Cornell and had 2 assists. ACHA isn't club hockey. Are you all smoking crack? I don't particularly care for the guy, but everyone is always quick to call liar when someone is able to do something they are not. To the original blogger, who gives a shit???

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  17. ACHA is club hockey
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Collegiate_Hockey_Association

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