Tennessee has reported a secondary violation to the SEC over an improper benefit received by football signee Jacques McClendon.

McClendon, an offensive lineman and the highest-rated signee in UT’s 2006 class, and his mother, Stephanie McClendon, received two tickets from booster and Knoxville attorney Gordon Ball for the Lady Vols’ game against Vanderbilt on Sunday at Thompson-Boling Arena, according to the report.

The McClendons received the tickets after Ball’s son, Tanner, a ninth-grade student manager for Chattanooga Baylor School’s football team, offered them to McClendon, according to UT. McClendon is a senior at Baylor and lives in Cleveland, Tenn.

The report said the McClendons also were permitted to eat a meal prior to the game in the Tennessee Courtside Club, an area in the arena where donors gather and eat prior to basketball games.

The premium seats require a $40,000 donation over five years and cost $185 for the entire season. McClendon was declared ineligible until he and his mother pay $74 ($15 per ticket and $22 per meal) to a charity of their choice according to NCAA bylaws. Ball will receive a written warning from UT.

"I apologize to everyone if there was a quote violation," Ball told the The Associated Press on Wednesday. "It was my fault, not Jacques’ fault, not my son’s fault. I was not thinking."

The report said that the McClendons traveled to Knoxville on their own. The Balls ate with the McClendons and sat with them during the game.

The issue is likely to be deemed minor by the SEC. UT cited its quick action and McClendon’s status as a signed athlete as two reasons the issue "was isolated and inadvertent." UT claims that since McClendon already had signed a letter of intent that no recruiting advantage was gained.

UT also said in its report that the McClendons were unaware that their acceptance of the tickets and meals was a violation of NCAA rules since the prospect knew and went to the same high school as Ball’s son.

The McClendons watched the first half of the game from courtside seats on the front row. But they weren’t there for the second half, and officials said they moved to seats in another section for the rest of the game.

Ball told the AP he was made aware of the possible violation at halftime.

During a phone interview Tuesday, McClendon seemed unaware that a possible violation could have occurred from receiving the tickets and meals.

"It was a great experience," the 6-foot-3, 325-pounder said about the game. "Obviously, I found out I wasn’t supposed to be down there."

McClendon said he and his mother are longtime Lady Vols basketball fans. McClendon said he has been a friend of former Lady Vols guard Brittany Jackson for years. Jackson and the McClendons are from Cleveland, Tenn.