WKU Head Coach Ken McDonald announced in a statement Sunday that senior forward Cliff Dixon has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules.

“This is an unfortunate situation, but it is best for our basketball program,” McDonald said in the statement. “Cliff will still be able to attend classes and progress toward his degree. This is an internal matter, and we wish him well.”

Dixon didn’t play in the first half of WKU’s game against North Texas Saturday and was absent from the bench when the Toppers returned from halftime.

He was later seen sitting in the stands in street clothes for a portion of the second half.

McDonald said Saturday that the situation would be handled internally, and that Dixon and the coaching staff had “some talking to do.”

Dixon arrived at WKU last season as a junior college transfer and was averaging 4.8 points and 4.1 rebounds this season. He had started six of the 22 games in which he played this year.

Dixon is the second player dismissed from the Toppers’ squad this season, as junior guard Ken Brown was removed from the team in December for a violation of WKU’s academic policy.

Dixon’s departure leaves WKU with nine scholarship players on the active roster, as freshman guard Brandon Peters was also ruled academically ineligible on Jan. 1.