The Big East announced on Thursday that it has decided to allow athletes to transfer within the conference, which was something previously not allowed.

The Big East joins several other conferences, including the Southern Eastern Conference (SEC), in recently allowing athletes to join schools within that same league. The decision was approved unanimously by the league’s Board of Directors, according to the Big East’s release. 

This new policy change will go into effect immediately and student-athletes in all conference-sponsored sports will be governed by NCAA legislation. 

In April, the NCAA passed new legislation that will allow athletes in all sports to transfer once and be immediately eligible to play. In the past, football, basketball, men’s hockey and baseball players were not allowed to transfer and receive immediate eligibility without first getting a waiver from the NCAA. 

So far, there hasn’t been an athlete from the Big East that has announced they are transferring to another Big East school. 

The SEC’s change will now align more closely with NCAA rules, which will require fall sports athletes to notify their decision to transfer by Feb. 1. 

Last year, the Big East moved fall sports to the spring due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. But the schedule is expected to return to its normal spot in the calendar starting in August, with men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball going back to its traditional fall schedule.