KOOP (91.7 FM) (pronounced 'co-op') is a noncommercial community radio station owned and operated by its members and staffed by volunteers.

[5] The Austin Co-op Radio project was initiated by James R. (Jim) Ellinger, whose community radio experience included social justice programming for prisoners, broadcast on KOPN-FM in Columbia, Missouri; local information programming on KAZI-FM in Austin, Texas; and engagement with NFCB (the National Federation of Community Broadcasters and AMARC (l'Association Internationale des Radiodiffuseurs Communautaires / World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters).

Ellinger and the group lobbied Texas’ Sen. Lloyd Bentsen and were successful in having the treaty changed, freeing up the frequency.

In July 1986, Board Members Jim Ellinger and Michelle Rosenberg signed a lease with the nonprofit Center for Maximum Potential Building Systems, located in Hornsby, Texas, for space to erect a broadcasting tower.

These provisions are designed to ensure that each Community Board is broadly representative and is not dominated by a narrow set of interests.

On May 11, well known community radio lawyer John Crigler of the Washington firm Haley, Bader & Potts filed a motion to dismiss and replace Co-op's original application,[14] and on June 1, the FCC stated that Co-op's (amended) application would be processed "in an expedited manner."

In 1995, the FCC stopped using comparative hearings for deciding which applicant for a noncommercial educational radio frequency would win.

On 6 January a fire caused significant smoke damage; the station suspended operation for just five days and sought a new home.

[18] Before a site could be found, a second fire occurred on 4 February which destroyed KOOP's building and three adjacent structures that housed artist studios and a nightclub.

[18][21] By the end of 2006, KOOP had found new quarters at 3823 Airport Boulevard, where it built two broadcast studios, two production rooms, a music library, meeting space and offices.

[23] Austin fire officials declared the incident arson and within weeks charged a former station volunteer, Paul Webster Feinstein, with setting the blaze.

According to investigators, Feinstein had quit a month earlier following a dispute over the music lineup for the station's overnight webstream.

[24][25] On 12 June 2009, Feinstein pleaded guilty to setting the 2008 fire, and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment; however, as part of a plea agreement, Feinstein would serve 120 days at the Texas State Prison in Huntsville, pay $134,000 restitution, serve 10 years probation upon release from prison, plus community service, and undergo counseling.