As of late, I haven’t kicked out anything really serious in my column.

No serious calls for action. No hot takes on things going on within the community.

So far, I’ve either written about myself (big whoop), sports or internet culture.

At this time, it’s really not my place just yet to do any “call outs” or really lean into opinions about what communities, groups or individuals can do to improve. When that time comes, I have a resounding philosophy — I give praise when praise needs to be given, and I point out things that need to be pointed out.

A good friend once told me, “when I deserve to be taken to the woodshed, you can take me to the woodshed.”

I’ll add that if it’s portrayed in a constructive manner, it’s a bitter pill to swallow at first. However, it’s a great medicine overall.

Some people won’t admit that, but it’s a great rule to live by.

For now, though, it’s good to enact the “close mouth, open ears” rule. After all, my primary job is to simply narrate, and let the people, organizations or things that I write about shine.

While spring sports are still in its fledgling stages, I have some topics that I haven’t written about in a long while.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW: Before I dive in conference realignment, I want to follow up on something that I touched upon in my previous entry of the Liger’s Den. It’s a case of “silly me,” as I lumped Steven He (known for the “Emo-tion-al Da-mage!” meme) and Uncle Roger (played by Nigel Ng) into one individual.

Steven He portrays the interactions between his younger self and the over-the-top Asian dad (for comedic purposes), while Uncle Roger commentates on cooking. The latter even garnered the attention of the man, the myth, the legend himself — Gordon Ramsay.

I enjoy both content creators, though. They have a special place in my funny bone, right next to the Screaming Marmot.

One of these days, I’d love to write about Gordon Ramsay in a Liger’s Den.

NOW, OUR FEATURE PRESENTATION: Truth be told, I really haven’t talked about any form of conference realignment — high school or collegiate — since 2016 or so. A lot has changed since then.

In 2021, the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma announced their departure from the Big 12, all to join the Southeastern Conference in 2025. The Longhorns and Sooners have since agreed with the Big 12 to join the SEC in time for the 2024-2025 academic year.

Down to just eight teams, the Big 12 went on the offensive later that year by reeling in Brigham Young University, the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Houston.

For next season and next season only, the quartet of BYU, UCF, Cincinnati and the U of H share the same space with UT and OU.

This ignited a chain of events within the major intercollegiate conferences, with universities getting picked up by the American Conference while other schools jumped over to the Sun Belt Conference — which grew into a powerhouse of a mid-major conference over the span of a decade — from Conference USA.

This left Conference USA scrambling for schools such as Sam Houston State, New Mexico State and Liberty.

Another seismic shift happened this past summer, when UCLA and USC decided to jump to the Big Ten Conference from the Pac-12 Conference. Rumors then floated around that Oregon and Washington are also wanting to jump to the Big Ten, while the likes of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah are mulling over a shift over to the Big 12, of all places.

It even affected smaller conferences — such as the Missouri Valley Conference. The Valley was quick to grab Murray State from the Ohio Valley Conference, and pick up the University of Illinois-Chicago to fill the non-football ranks.

Before I get into wishful thinking and dream scenarios, I want to say that whatever happens — I want to see the Iowa Hawkeyes, Iowa State Cyclones, Northern Iowa Panthers and (to a lesser extent) Drake Bulldogs in conferences that are viable for many years to come.

So, the Hawks are in a great position with their affiliation with the Big 10.

Would be cool to see the Oregon Ducks and Washington Huskies enter the conference and create a “Pacific Division?” Maybe.

But I do believe that if the Big 10 makes that leap, it needs to go all in. Get Oregon, Washington, Stanford and…maybe you might force Notre Dame to finally give up independence and make the move.

If you’re thinking about big bucks, you need to swing for the fences.

As for the Big 12, it’s good to see a conference that has taken a beating, start making some folks sweat a little bit. Even though the Sooners have dominated in football while the Longhorns grab all of the attention from the big media engines, I can live without them.

I’m glad to see the Big 12 welcoming in the Bearcats, two sets of Cougars and the Knights.

But why stop at BYU, Cincy, UCF and the U of H?

Why not make an effort to bring back the Buffaloes, while making overtures to the Sun Devils, Utes and Wildcats?

Could there be a possibility of grabbing teams eager to join the future Power 4, such as Boise State, Fresno State, Memphis, San Diego State or South Florida?

I do have a feeling that the Hawks and Cyclones will be in coast-to-coast conferences in the near future. The Hawks are already there, and it won’t be long until the Big 12 goes on the offensive once more (which is such a breath of fresh air).

Then, there’s UNI. I believe that the Missouri Valley Conference is stable, but it does get confusing when you’re trying to separate the football conference from the all-sports conference.

I see Big East circa 2011 written all over this, just on a smaller scale.

Here’s a thought. Could there be a split between the football schools and non-football schools?

In one league, you assemble the Panthers with the Dakota schools (South Dakota State, North Dakota State, South Dakota and North Dakota), Illinois State, Indiana State, Missouri State, Murray State and Southern Illinois. For kicks, bring on Youngstown State and Western Illinois to make it 12.

Then, you put Drake with Belmont, Bradley, Evansville, UIC and Valparaiso. From there, you could give the remaining Summit League members — Denver, UMKC, Omaha, Oral Roberts and St. Thomas — a home, and pluck Morehead State from the Ohio Valley Conference. That gives you a 12-member league, right there.

Seismic? Sure.

But I’m being Iowa-centric here.

How about my alma mater — West Texas A&M — who currently reside in the Lone Star Conference of Division II? Believe it or not, the LSC is at 18 members, with seven football programs with the rest competing as non-football schools.

It’s a little confusing with the LSC, too, as they have three football affiliated members in Central Washington, Simon Fraser (out of Canada!) and Western Oregon. Technically, the LSC has 10 football schools.

Sul Ross State (based out of Alpine) is set to join the LSC from Division III. That beefs the number up to 11.

I could see the University of Texas-Tyler add a football program in the future, as well as Texas A&M-International (based in Laredo). My money is on the Patriots over the Dustdevils, though.

Finally, let’s talk about the Iowa high school conference landscape. I promise that I won’t dwell on this like I did for intercollegiate athletics.

Back in December, Jeff Linder of The Gazette kicked out “One Guy’s wish list for Iowa high school conference realignment.” It got the hamsters in my head running, as I believe he was on to something.

Before anyone freaks out, Webster City is in a great place with the North Central Conference. I don’t want the Lynx to go anywhere else.

Could St. Edmond be scooted over to the Twin Lakes Conference? They could, but that would rattle a lot of cages around here.

South Hamilton is another story.

In the 2022-2023 BEDS (Basic Educational Data Survey), South High clocks in with 155 students. The rest of the Heart of Iowa Athletic Conference averages about 273 students.

The problem is, where would the Hawks go?

The West Central Activities Conference would be a decent fit, but it would force the Hawks to travel further south. However, it would reunite South High with Madrid, Ogden and Woodward-Granger.

In exchange, Van Meter or Des Moines Christian could switch affiliations to the HOIAC. Not saying that the Bulldogs and Lions would make that move, but they are growing school districts.

I will go out on a limb and say this, Van Meter is destined to grow into a bigger school. I could even see them in the Raccoon River Conference down the road.

The same could be applied to Des Moines Christian or Woodward-Granger.

Right now, there’s no need for the Hawks to part ways with a conference that they’ve been with since the very beginning.

But it could be something to ponder in the future, as Nevada, Roland-Story and Saydel are located in a growing part of Iowa.

I’ve said enough, and enough it shall be. Until next time.