The Times of Trenton reports that David Whitehurst, an athlete on Penn's basketball and track and field teams, has been dismissed from the University because of academics.
An athletic department spokesman would only say that "we would never comment on a student-athlete's academic status."
The two-sport athlete is currently playing in the Jersey Shore Basketball League on the USA Financial team, competing on the same squad as former Quakers stars Tim Begley and Adam Chubb.
Whitehurst, a rising junior in the College, won his second straight Ivy League high hurdles competition last season, and was a high school track All-American at Lawrenceville Prep in New Jersey.
A 6-foot-3 shooting guard, he was one of only four players to log minutes in all 29 of Penn's basketball games last year. He started 21 of those games and finished the season averaging 5.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 26.4 minutes per game. The high point of his season came against then-No. 1 Duke, where he dropped 15 points and pulled down five boards in the Quakers' 72-59 loss.
The conditions for his readmission would be set by the Committee on Undergraduate Academic Standing. If Whitehurst has been dropped, and not merely put on probation, he would not have the opportunity to return until the 2007-08 season. The University policy reads that "a student in the College who has been dropped for scholastic deficiencies will not be considered for readmission within the year following dismissal."
