Dan Beebe says the Pac-10 has "fair-weather" fans

So the Big XII survived being swallowed up by the Pac-10.

You know what else survived?

The Big XII-Pac-10 Hardwood Series.

As we wrote back in April when the dates were announced, once you get beyond the most dedicated fans, very few people that were even aware that the Big XII and the Pac-10 have a Hardwood Series. That's what happens when a twelve game series is chock full of uninteresting match ups and takes a month to finish.

That may change this year.

Obviously, there is the realignment drama. Most thought Texas was going to lead the charge of six Big XII teams to the Pac-10. Many believed this spelled the demise of the Big XII. Instead, depending on who you read and where you've read it, Texas manipulated Larry Scott and the Pac-10 in order to dump Colorado out west and rake in as much money as possible next season, eventually establishing their own network.

That alone adds quite a bit of intrigue to a series whose most interesting matchup is between a team (Missouri) whose coach flirted with another team (Oregon).

And thanks to Dan Beebe, things have gotten even more interesting.

SI.com was able to uncover an email that Beebe, the commissioner of the Big XII, sent out to his member schools on June 1st. In this email, Beebe tries to convince Big XII members to commit to the conference, using a variety of methods. One of which is to describe the fans of Pac-10 schools as "fair-weather".

"For those considering possible membership in the Pac-10, I hope that full consideration is given to the student-athlete and fan experience," Beebe wrote in the email. "I grew up in Pac-10 territory and although there are outstanding institutions in the conference, the facilities and fair-weather fans are a disappointment. I suggest that the fan support for their regular-season games and championships, and the accompanying image that projects, should be carefully examined." (Ed. Note: Our emphasis added.)

Now, the Pac-10 was down last season, and given the amount of talent leaving the conference and the lack of incoming all-americans, its difficult to expect anything different next season. But that doesn't mean that fan bases at Oregon or Washington or Arizona are any less vicious.

Especially when they come across that quote.