Kentucky fan Maria Montgomery will be sharing even more photos from her UK hockey poster photo shoot on Instagram.
Maria Montgomery was thrilled about 14 years ago when the University of Kentucky hockey team asked her to be on the team’s annual poster.
The hockey poster’s first model was actress Ashley Judd for the 1998-99 season because team general manager Ian Ward found out one of the team’s players was Judd’s cousin. Ward sent her a customized jersey asking if she would send him a photo in the jersey and the iconic UK hockey poster was a wildly popular item.
Actress Rebecca Gayheart (1999-2000), actress/singer Laura Bell Bundy (2010-11), Miss USA Tara Conner (2006-07), Miss Kentucky Emily Cox (2008-09), twins/models Julie and Shawnie Costello (2001-02), boxing analyst/model Amy Hayes (2003-04) and model Kinley Myers (2018-19) are some of the others who have been on the UK hockey poster.
“They asked me to do it during my year as Miss Kentucky (2009) and I was thrilled because I knew Ashley, Tara and some others had done it. But something happened and they didn’t do one that year,” Montgomery said.
However, a few months ago the hockey team reached out to Tod Lanter, Montgomery’s fiancée, about her being on the poster. Montgomery’s modeling career has blossomed and she’s done work for the SEC Network, UK basketball and FanDuel TV. She’s also been in various music videos with Tim McGraw and Josh Groban. She even met Taylor Swift when she worked at the Country Music Awards. But she’s also been a die-hard UK fan since she was a young girl and that’s never changed.
The photo on the poster was taken when she was helping at the Miss Indiana USA pageant.
“I knew the photographer really well and they also had a great pageant hair and makeup team. I just knew that would be the easiest option to get the photo from someone who knows the glam business,” Montgomery said on WPBK-FM Thursday. “I just asked if I could pop up in front of the camera wearing a UK jersey and they happily let me.
“I still have a lot of behind the scenes photos and videos I plan to eventually post (on Instagram). I just tried to be a little different with my pose for the poster. I am just so grateful and loved doing it. It was really a lot of fun.”
She will “drop the puck” at the Kentucky-Louisville match Friday night at midnight at the Lexington Ice Center.
“I’ve thrown opening pitches (at baseball games) but this will be a first,” she laughed and said. “They will be giving out posters at the game and I will be signing some.”
Montgomery is currently working for FanDuel TV at Churchill Downs in Louisville and soon will be doing the same during the fall meet at Keeneland. She’s been interviewing fans to get their “race” experience and also worked for FanDuel at the Kentucky Derby.
With online wagering now legal in Kentucky, she knows the audience for the race track work likely will grow.
“I know even for someone like me it makes me feel more invested in a game I am watching even if I just made a $5 wager,” Montgomery said.
One Response
Where do I find a poster?