NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland – Division II consultant Rich Luker put a silver lining on the economic cloud for Division II institutions at a Friday issues forum when he said they were part of the solution for the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Luker, chief strategy officer for TBA Global and an adviser to Division II’s community-engagement effort, said the current financial crisis is prompting corporations to shift their marketing focus.

“Corporations are seeking community events rather than national ones,” he said. “They know they need to connect locally, but they don’t know how to build community. Division II is in Position A. The corporate ears have never been more wide open.”

Luker said Division II can use the situation to its advantage as institutions seek sponsorships to improve their game environments. He also said that Division II’s focus on engaging communities may galvanize schools from shrinking discretionary funds since rarely has the general public sacrificed its desire for recreation and entertainment – even in the most troubled of times. In that regard, Luker said, Division II’s family-friendly and affordable venues fill a need. “Recreation is not a nicety,” Luker said, “but a necessity.”

Luker warned, however, that the depressed economy also calls for Division II to ensure that its game environments are positive. Now is not the time, he said, to tolerate boorish fan behavior.

“To root against someone may be popular when there are no real battles in life,” he said. “During the Great Depression and the World Wars you didn’t find people rooting against each other – they were arm in arm trying to get through the crisis. For kids today who want to participate in intercollegiate athletics, the outcome of the games is not going to be as important as whether the environment in which those games are staged is safe, secure and held among friends. A bad game environment could take down the whole thing.”