Baruch may not have its own football team, but on Jan. 16, 2013, it had one notable football player on campus. Mason Hall, the distinctive, decades-old auditorium/theatre on the lobby floor of the Field Building at 17 Lexington Avenue, welcomed members of the NFL, who were taping a Super Bowl commercial featuring Commissioner Roger Goodell and Hall of Famer and NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders.
Already enjoyed by millions and available on YouTube, the ad shows Sanders pretending to be prospective NFL rookie Leon Sandcastle. Sandcastle rushes the Mason Hall stage—which is digitally altered to look like Radio City Music Hall—when he is chosen as the first draft pick by the Kansas City Chiefs.
Mason Hall is named in honor of Baruch couple Eli (’40, LHD [Hon.] ’78) and Claire (’40) Mason.
—Diane Harrigan