Manhattan ? Kansas State students will no longer be required to pay a fee to support athletics.

Kansas State Athletics and student government announced Friday the fee will end in the 2018-19 school year, a year earlier than had previously been announced.

Kansas State officials say the decision makes it the only university athletics program in the state and one of only a few in the country to operate with no direct or indirect university and student funding or state support.

The Student Government Association allocated $350,000 for intercollegiate athletics during the current fiscal year, most of which helped pay some of the $1.1 million the athletic department pays to student workers each year.

The announcement comes after the department recently eliminated more than $2.6 million in other direct and indirect university funding.