The annual Miss University of Tennessee at Martin / Miss Tennessee Soybean Festival Scholarship Pageant will be held at 7 p.m., Oct. 26, in the Boling University Center’s Duncan Ballroom. The deadline to apply for the competition has been extended to noon on Oct. 21.

The Miss UT Martin Scholarship Pageant is celebrating its 57th year, and this is the 21st year for the Miss Tennessee Soybean Festival title.

Both titles will be chosen in the same night. Students enrolled full-time at UT Martin through the spring 2020 semester are eligible for either crown. Beginning this year, a UT Martin graduate currently working toward an additional degree at another Tennessee institution, is also eligible to compete for the Miss UT Martin title. All women participating as residents or full-time students in Tennessee are eligible for the Miss Tennessee Soybean Festival title. Potential candidates for both titles should consult the contestant packet for full eligibility requirements.

The pageant is divided into five phases of competition, including private interview, swimsuit, talent, evening wear and on-stage questions. Each contestant is scored individually from one to 10 in each category. Interviews will take place on the morning of the pageant and mandatory practice will occur in the afternoon.

The contestant crowned Miss UT Martin will receive $1,500 in scholarship money, and Miss Tennessee Soybean Festival will receive $1,500 if she is a UT Martin student or $500 if not. The first runner-up for Miss UT Martin will receive $500 and the second runner-up will receive $200. There is no financial award for runners-up in the Miss Tennessee Soybean Festival title.

Both titleholders will compete in the statewide Miss Tennessee Volunteer Scholarship Pageant in Jackson next summer, and the winner of that crown will serve as the governor’s spokesperson for character education across the state and receive $25,000 in scholarship money.

Tickets are available now at the Boling University Center Welcome Desk outside Watkins Auditorium. A limited number of tickets can also be purchased at the door beginning at 5 p.m. the night of the competition. Advance ticket purchase is recommended.

The admission charge is $15 for the general public and $10 for UT Martin students with their university ID. Only one ticket can be purchased with each student ID.

For more information, contact Katrina Cobb, pageant director, at kcobb@wljt.org or 731-881-7561.

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