Fictional Alumni Face-Off: Cornell, MIT to Have REAL Battle Over FAKE Alumni

Two of the world’s most prestigious universities are about to go head-to-head to see which school boasts the most impressive graduate…who never really existed.

Cornell and MIT, fueled by a recent Facebook feud, will be holding an elimination tournament where alumni and students of both schools will take a hard look at some of the most famous characters from literature, television, video games, and film to determine which institution produced the most notable non-existent graduate.

How is it played?

The game is simple. Each week a fictitious MIT alum will be matched against a fabled Cornellian, and it will be up to each school’s respective constituency to answer the question: “If they were real, which person has the potential to offer the greatest contribution(s) to society?”

Community members from each university will post their reasoning on their alumni Facebook page or Twitter feed and representatives from each school’s Alumni Affairs department will reach a verdict as to which character received the best/most creative validation. Winners will be announced and the bracket will be updated on Mondays. There is no limit to how much one person can post, so have at it!

How is it Judged?

Representatives from Cornell and MIT alumni affairs will be looking for posts that are clever, witty, absurd, and downright ridiculous. The more entertaining we find your comment to be, the more likely it will tip the scale in favor of your alma mater.

What's at stake?

The winning school will take ownership of the soon-to-be-constructed Social Media Cup trophy.

The losing school will be forced to produce a video that pays homage to both the tournament winner and his or her alma mater and promote the video on their own Facebook page.

When does it start?

Beginning Monday, September 19, each school will start collecting names for tournament contenders. The first head-to-head matchup will begin Monday, September 26, and continue weekly until a winner emerges. Begin composing your most powerful, yet concise Tweets and start planning your brightest Facebook comments because a simple “poke” isn’t going to cut it.

Follow all the action on the Face-Off website and with the hashtag #MITCU.

MIT on Facebook and Twitter.

Cornell on Facebook and Twitter.