Princeton released a statement today that junior Will Barrett will be withdrawing from school.
Barrett has been sidelined since late November with a right foot injury. He plans to return to Princeton for the 2012-13 season.
Given the timing of this announcement (the school's Spring Term begins February 6th), it seems likely Barrett will be petitioning for an extra season of eligibility. By staying enrolled at Princeton he would have only had one year remaining.
More on the Ivy League's medical hardship rules after the jump.
Quoting from the 2010-11 Ivy League Manual:
Season of Competition Waivers [Ivy Office, 2005]
2. Season of competition waivers will normally be granted when a student misses a season due to illness or emergency beyond the student’s control. Waivers will normally be denied when students choose not to participate in athletics during a term in which they are enrolled and eligible, or do not participate at the discretion of the coach.
a. A student may have a season of Ivy League eligibility restored on the basis of a medical hardship that prevents or terminates athletic participation when an illness or injury occurs prior to the completion of the first half of the season and prior to participation in more than 30% of the scheduled in-season contests or dates of competition [emphasis mine - JS] per NCAA bylaw 14.2.4, and results in incapacity to compete for the remainder of the season. [Council, 2007]
b. Residence and Years of Eligibility / V A
c. Medical and contest count information should be documented when the injury occurs, and a waiver should be requested from the Ivy Office during the academic year of the missed season. [Ivy Office, 2005]
d. A student who receives an Ivy or NCAA medical hardship exception in wrestling may not have competed in “outside” wrestling events from the first practice date after the injury through the EIWA meet in the season in which he suffered the injury on which the exception is based. [Administration, Spring 2001]
e. A Medical Advisory Committee comprised of three team doctors from the Ivy Leagues schools will review applications for Ivy Non-Participation Medical Waivers in cases where the nature of the injury or level of documentation does not very clearly meet the criteria for restoring a season of competition. The Ivy Office will determine which cases to forward to the Committee, and will consult the Chair as needed. The Ivy Office will make the final determination of whether or not a season of eligibility is restored. [Ivy Office, 2005]
This increase from 25% to 30% of scheduled contests seems to have come between the publication of the 2004-05 Ivy League Manual and this most recent edition. Since Barrett played in just eight of Princeton's 30 regular season games (26.7%) he would appear eligible for an extra season.
This creates some interesting potential depth charts for 2012-13 and 2013-14.
