NCAA athletes will be immediately eligible to play no matter how many times they transfer — as long as they meet academic requirements — after the association fast-tracked legislation Wednesday to fall in line with a recent court order.

The NCAA announced the Division I Council’s decision becomes official today when its meeting adjourns. The change still needs to be ratified by the DI Board next week, but that is expected.

The new rules will go into effect immediately, though in reality they have already been enacted through a lawsuit filed late last year.

Transfer windows, which are sport-specific, remain in place and require undergraduate athletes to enter their names into the portal at certain times to be immediately eligible at a new school. Graduate students can already transfer multiple times and enter the portal outside the windows while maintaining immediate eligibility.

A coalition of state attorneys general late last year sued the NCAA, challenging rules that forced athletes that wanted to transfer multiple-times as undergraduates to sit out a season with their new school.

A judge in West Virginia granted the plaintiffs a temporary injunction, lifting requirements for multiple-time transfers to request a waiver from the NCAA to be immediately eligible to compete.

The NCAA quickly requested the injunction be kept in place throughout the remaining school year to clear up any ambiguity for athletes and schools. The association has had to issue guidance to its members to clarify what that means for next season. Now the rules match the court ruling.

By eliminating the so-called year-in-residence for transfers, an athlete must be academically eligible at the previous school and not subject to any disciplinary suspension or dismissal to compete immediately at a new school.