Published Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Queen's University, Belfast. (© Getty)
The decision comes as a result of the university losing six of their panel to the counties for this season's tournament.
In a statement, Queen's said the decision had been made "with regret".
"The club were hoping for Regulation 1 of the competition rules, which states that universities would have first preference on players, to be adhered to," the statement added.
"Unfortunately, the Ulster Council have instructed Queen's to replace the players in the university panel who have been named in three county panels.
"Queen's always enters the McKenna Cup in a competitive and sporting spirit, but with a much reduced and weakened panel this year, the university team would be at a severe disadvantage.
"This would not be fair to Queen's and also to the other counties."
The Ulster Council also issued a statement saying they were 'disappointed' with the university's decision.