College of Charleston’s Board of Trustees gave the school’s president George Benson the permission to negotiate with the Colonial Athletic Association about becoming a member of the conference Friday.

According to the Charleston Post and Courier, the board of trustees met for 90 minutes before passing a resolution that gave Benson the authority to open negotiations. It does not necessarily mean that the school will leave the Southern Conference just yet.

College of Charleston joined the Southern Conference in 1998 and made an immediate impact by winning the SoCon Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The CAA has issues for College of Charleston involving travel. The Post and Courier reported that the board’s athletic committee estimated that the school’s current $1.2 million travel budget would increase to $1.8 million. That figure was based on if another SoCon school would also join the league.

Davidson said it would not join the league earlier in the week.

Three programs in the CAA leave the league by the end of the year. Virginia Commonwealth is going to the Atlantic-10, Old Dominion is going to Conference USA and Georgia State is going to the Sun Belt.