The 47th Annual Beautiful Bulldog Contest® will take place on Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 2:00pm at the Knapp Center. Doors will open an hour early (1:00pm) for all students and guests to enjoy the Rescue Dog Festival and Kids Zone before the pageant begins. There will be free exclusive Beautiful Bulldog Contest T-shirts sponsored by P&M Apparel for the first 75 students in the doors. Students must show a valid student ID to receive their T-shirt. If you do not get a T-shirt through the doors, there are still other opportunities to receive a T-shirt through the T-shirt that will happen periodically throughout the program. 

The Beautiful Bulldog Contest® at Drake University is a unique trademarked event with an over 40-year history. The event kicks off a week-long Drake Relays celebration. Thirty English Bulldogs walk the pup-way to impress judges in hopes of being crowned the Most Beautiful Bulldog. The winner then serves a year-long reign as the Drake Relays mascot and the Most Beautiful Bulldog. 

During the contest, each contestant will walk the pageant runway. This is prime time for the pups to show off their stuff or do tricks. Our judges will meet each contestant and together determine the winners of each award category, which include Drake Spirit, Best Dressed, Rescue Dog Recognition, Porterhouse People's Choice, Second Runner-Up, Runner-Up, and Most Beautiful Bulldog. It’s up to the judges to decide how each Bulldog best represents these seven awards and both the judging time and the pageant is what they use to judge these categories.