WASHINGTON, D.C. — A pillared goliath along Constitution Avenue, the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium stands as one of the capital city’s most iconic buildings, roughly a half-mile from the Washington Monument and with a bird’s-eye view of the U.S. Capitol.
The 90-year-old auditorium has hosted some of the nation’s most defining and historic events. This is where dignitaries established NATO in 1949, where president Bill Clinton signed the North American Free Trade Agreement and where the 9/11 Commission released its findings.
On Wednesday evening, the Mellon Auditorium hosted something else: a gathering of university presidents, college athletic directors, coaches and congressional staff members as part of the latest lobbying effort from the power conferences for a federal college sports bill.