MANHATTAN — The Kansas Entrepreneurship Challenge, a statewide student entrepreneurship competition featuring high school and collegiate teams from across Kansas, will take place Thursday, April 28, at Kansas State University.

The contest is sponsored by the Kansas Masonic Foundation on behalf of all Kansas Masons and hosted by K-State with the support of Network Kansas. It offers $75,000 in prize money to student entrepreneurs who will pitch their businesses to a panel of judges consisting of entrepreneurs, bankers and investment experts in a “Shark Tank”-like environment.

The competition will get underway at 9 a.m. in the K-State Student Union. An Entrepreneurship Tradeshow will be available from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in the Union Ballroom. At 3 p.m., a keynote speech will be given by Denzel Goolsby, a Manhattan entrepreneur, K-State alumnus and a former K-State football player and team captain. It will be followed by an awards ceremony at 3:30 p.m.

This year’s competition features 63 high school-level teams from across the state, including from the area Ellinwood High School, Jetmore High School, Sterling High School, St. John High School, and Sylvan-Lucas High School, Wabaunsee Junior High School, Wamego High School, Wichita County High School, Wichita East High School, Winfield High School and Wyandotte High School. Two homeschool teams also are competing.

The competition also includes the following community colleges/tech schools: Cloud County Community College, Coffeyville Community College, Garden City Community College, Highland Community College, Johnson County Community College, Labette Community College and Neosho County Community College.