SANTA CRUZ >> UC Santa Cruz students will once again decide whether they want to pay a significantly higher fee to support their university’s intercollegiate sports program in an online poll open to students from May 11 to May 16. The results of the poll will be released May 27.

If a simple majority of voters want to see intercollegiate athletics continue, a fee proposal will be taken to students in spring 2017 for a vote.

The Athletics Department has operated at a deficit for years. Although its current budget is about $1.4 million, it spends approximately $2 million per year on salary and operating costs.

UCSC students currently pay $15 a year to support the university’s NCAA program. The university considered phasing out intercollegiate athletics altogether in 2013, but instead opted to provide a $1 million annual subsidy until 2017, hoping the supplemental income would give the department time to find alternative funding.

Two years ago, campus Provost Alison Galloway informed the athletics office that it would need to transition from central campus funds to a funding model that relies solely on student fees. However, in February 2015, students voted against a $351 annual fee that would have provided the UCSC Athletics Department with an estimated $3.55 million in additional funding.

Now time is running out.

If the students decide against the fee this year, Scott Hernandez-Jason, UCSC director of news and media relations, said, the campus likely will wind down the intercollegiate athletics program next year, making Santa Cruz the first school in the UC system to cut its athletics department.

UCSC offers NCAA Division III athletics teams in men’s and women’s basketball, cross-country, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis and volleyball; plus women’s golf and track.

However, the school’s club sports programs, including baseball, rugby and badminton, would continue.

Approximately 280 students, or less than 2 percent of undergraduates, participate in the NCAA program. About 900 students, or 5.5 percent of undergraduates, play club sports.

“So while our Division III program could end, sports and athletics would continue,” said Scott Hernandez-Jason, UCSC director of news and media relations. “There is obvious value to providing students with opportunities to play team sports and enjoy all the rewards from competing and being part of a team.”

The current $1.4 million budget for the athletics department is derived from several sources, with a significant portion already stemming from student fees. The Student Services Fee, Student Programs Fee and the Intercollegiate Athletics Sports Team Fee all contribute to the department’s annual budget.

Students at other UC campuses have voted to charge themselves substantial fees to support intercollegiate athletics. For example, UC Merced students pay $150 and UC Irvine students pay $99 a year to support athletics and other campus spirit programs, according to Hernandez-Jason.

Although UCSC officials have yet to determine the student fee amount, students will vote on whether or not to keep the athletics program on May 11.

“Our intercollegiate athletics program is at a crossroads. Over the last several years, the campus has had to make hard choices about how to spend our limited resources. Our mission is to education students, conduct research and serve California,” Hernandez-Jason said.

UCSC officials have convened a faculty committee as well as a trustee and alumni committee to weigh in on the topic.