More than 135 English bulldogs from 18 states registered to compete in Drake’s world-famous Beautiful Bulldog Contest set to take place April 22. From this record-breaking pool of bulldogs, only 40 (and 10 alternates) will be selected to compete in the contest, which crowns the official mascot of the 2018 Drake Relays presented by Hy-Vee.

A public lottery drawing will be held tonight, March 20, at 6 p.m. in The Knapp Center lobby to determine the contestants. During the lottery, an exciting panel of contest judges will also be announced.

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend both events—tonight’s lottery and the April 22 contest. The events are free and open to the public, and will be live-streamed on the Beautiful Bulldog Contest at Drake University Facebook page.

In conjunction with the contest and lottery, pet lovers are invited to contribute to the “Griff Gives Back” pet food drive. Last year the pet food drive, hosted by Griff, raised more than 5,000 pounds of food for the nonprofit Pet Project Midwest. Donations of adult dog and cat food are accepted on-site at the contest and lottery, or they can be taken to Drake Postal Operations located in the Olmsted Center.

— Niki Smith, University Communications