• Athletic Director Joel Nielsen and other university officials accepted a $1 million donation to the athletic department from alumnus Jason M. Cope in March 2011

• The Board of Trustees voted its unanimous approval of the donation and the naming of the basketball court in Cope’s honor, without being informed of the SEC violations in his past

• Cope withdrew the donation as the Stater was investigating his past

• University officials worked in the background to present a unified front as the media began to inquire about the donation