The pageant was won by Barbara Peterson of Minnesota , who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Summer Bartholomew of California . Peterson was the first &ndash; and to date only &ndash; woman from Minnesota to win the Miss USA title , and went on to participate at Miss Universe 1976 , where she became the first Miss USA titleholder to fail to advance to the semi-final stage of the pageant . The Miss USA 1976 delegates were :
Miss Universe 1976
Miss Universe 1976
Miss USA 1976