In December 1903, the board met to appoint a new president for BYU. Brimhall and Keeler, who had served as co-presidents together during Cluff's absence, were the two main candidates. The votes were evenly divided between the two until Stephen L. Chipman decided to vote in favor of Brimhall, breaking the tie. On 16 April 1904, Brimhall was unanimously elected as president of BYU. Following the pattern of LDS Church leadership, the board requested that BYU, Latter-day Saints University, and Brigham Young College appoint a presidency for their respective institutions. Brimhall appointed Keeler and Edwin S. Hinckley as members of the BYU presidency. Just as in past years, the first couple years of Brimhall's presidency were met with financial problems. The church allocated more funds for BYU than any other of the schools supported by its funding, but it still was not enough money to cover BYU's expenses.