"We turned down Tommy Lee"

The University of Nebraska Football was not the only school pitched "Tommy Lee Goes to College." It was just the only school dumb enough to take it on. Here's an email I received from a public relations official at another major state school, this one located in the Southeast:

I just read your column on "Tommy Lee Goes to College." Before the producers of this program approached Nebraska, they pitched it to several other colleges and universities, including my employer ... As soon as I received the pitch for Tommy Lee, I turned it down. This program would do nothing to enhance the academic mission of (our school) and at best, would prove disruptive to students, faculty and staff during the production. It isn't as though (we turn down) all entertainment programming ... (but) "Tommy Lee Goes to College," portrays academia as a side show, with no consideration for the rigor "real" students face to obtain their degrees.

I do not wish to disparage my colleagues at Nebraska ... I simply want to share with you my disbelief that any reputable institution of higher education would have ever given this proposal a second thought.