UM is staying put.

UM President Royce Engstrom announced Thursday that Grizzly Athletics will stay in the Big Sky Conference and the Football Championship Subdivision. University officials had the opportunity to consider a move to the Western Athletic Conference of the Football Bowl Subdivision.

"It was a complex issue with many pros and cons," said Engstrom, who started his new duties as UM's 17th president Oct. 15 and recently attended his first meeting of Big Sky Conference university presidents in Park City, Utah. "In the end, the better course is to stay with the conference we helped establish in 1963 and to continue building on its solid foundation."

Engstrom said three principles guided his decision. First, he wanted to maintain the cross-state rivalry between UM and Montana State University-Bozeman, which he regards as essential to the state's cultural fabric. The two institutions played their first college football rivalry game in 1897. Now nicknamed the Brawl of the Wild, it's the fourth-oldest active rivalry in the FCS and the oldest west of the Mississippi.

Second, he wanted UM to compete with more mission-similar institutions. He said the recent addition of the University of North Dakota strengthened the Big Sky Conference in that regard.

Finally, he wanted to ensure that UM athletic teams can compete successfully and maintain the prestige and integrity the program has demonstrated over the years.

"At this time, FCS football presents the best overall fit for the University, it provides our student-athletes and fans with a great experience, and it is consistent with the strategic direction of the University," Engstrom said.

"I agree this is the best course for The University of Montana at this particular time," UM Athletics Director Jim O'Day said. "Right now, Grizzly Athletics needs to concentrate on building its athletics infrastructure. That should be our No. 1 priority now and where we should be allocating our energy."

Stephen Sprang has been appointed UM's new associate provost and dean of the Graduate School.

Through the half-time appointment, Sprang will provide strategic direction for the Graduate School, as well as other aspects of the University's academic mission. He also is a professor in UM's Division of Biological Sciences and the director of the University's Center for Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics.

Sprang brings significant experience in graduate education and academic collaboration. He has mentored many doctoral students and postdoctoral fellows and has served on numerous dissertation committees.

Sprang led the graduate program in molecular biophysics at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. At UM he promoted the creation of a joint graduate program in biochemistry and biophysics, served on the Interdisciplinary Science Building advisory group and is a member of the University's Graduate Council, among other efforts.

Bill McGlynn, a UM School of Business Administration alumnus and CEO of Memjet, will speak at the public forum of the Harold and Priscilla Gilkey Executive Lecture Series on Wednesday, Nov. 17.

McGlynn will present "Technology and Market Disruptions: A UM Graduate's Experiences on the Bleeding Edge of Technology" at 6 p.m. in Gallagher Business Building Room 106. The lecture is free and open to the public.

After 24 years at Hewlett-Packard, McGlynn transferred his industry knowledge and executive leadership experience to a new technology startup called Memjet. Memjet's new Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems technology is expected to revolutionize printing. The company fabricates micron-sized features that allow engineering of printer components at 17 times the density of today's technologies, while increasing speed and decreasing size and cost.

Before joining Memjet, McGlynn was a senior executive in the Imaging and Printing Division at HP. Through various executive roles, he helped accelerate HP's growth in the printing industry from $150 million to $24 billion in annual sales.

The UM lecture series was established by Harold and Priscilla Gilkey in 2004 to provide resources for the University's School of Business Administration to host the nation's top business leaders to share their knowledge, expertise and experiences with students, faculty members and the community.

Stephen Kinzer, an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents, will present "Turkey and Iran: America's Partners in the New Middle East?" on Tuesday, Nov. 16, at UM.

The presentation will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. in the University Center Theater. It is part of UM's celebration of International Education Week and is free and open to the public.

Kinzer's most recent book, "Reset: Iran, Turkey, and America's Future," is described by The Huffington Post as "a bold exercise in reimagining the United States' big links in the Middle East."

Kinzer spent more than 20 years working for The New York Times, most of it as a foreign correspondent. His foreign postings placed him at the center of historic events and, at times, in the line of fire.

His appearance in Missoula is sponsored by UM International Programs, the School of Journalism, and the Central and Southwest Asian Studies Center. For more information, call UM International Programs at 406-243-2288 or e-mail brian.lofink@mso.umt.edu.

Players from the Montana Grizzlies football team are heading up an effort to give back to the community with the sixth annual Griz for Kids Toy Drive on Saturday, Nov. 13, at UM.

Fans can drop off new, unwrapped toys at all entrances to Washington-Grizzly Stadium before the Griz game against the University of North Dakota. Those unable to attend the game can make cash donations at all Missoula Federal Credit Union locations. All gifts are tax-deductible.

Griz linebackers Jordan Tripp and Alex Shaw are leading this year's effort, and they hope to top last year's record-setting drive, when Griz fans provided more than 3,000 toys and $3,500 in cash donations.

Those who can't make the game can join the Grizzlies football team and the rest of Griz Nation when the toy drive continues at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 18, at The Bookstore at UM.

Members of the Grizzlies football team and coaching staff will be on hand until 8 p.m. to greet fans and help collect new, unwrapped children's toys and logo wear. The bookstore will offer a 20 percent discount on all Griz logo merchandise. The players also will autograph purchases for the public.

For more information, call Allison Squires at 406-243-4853 or e-mail allison.squires@umontana.edu.

Montana Public Radio has launched its "Go Public" campaign, which aims to raise $165,000 by the end of the year while helping food banks in the station's listening area.

MTPR will host an on-air fundraising drive Wednesday through Friday, Nov. 17-19. During this pledge drive, instead of offering premiums in exchange for listener donations, as the station usually does, Missoula Federal Credit Union will match 5 percent of donations to benefit food banks and feeding programs in the donors' zip-code area. The 5 percent matching funds will go to the Montana Food Bank Network, which will distribute food to their partner food banks throughout western and central Montana.

"We chose the Montana Food Bank Network because they supply food for mere pennies on the dollar and have partner agencies in all the communities where we broadcast," said Linda Talbott, MTPR fundraising director. "This way our donors can support Montana Public Radio while also keeping the shelves in their local food banks full this holiday season."

MTPR is counting on $750,000 in listener contributions to meet its operating budget, and has raised $585,000 toward that goal so far this year.

For more information, call Talbott at 406-243-4215 or e-mail linda.talbott@umontana.edu. People can donate anytime by calling 800-325-1565 or by visiting the MTPR website.

Montana Public Radio

Dara Wier, author of numerous collections of poetry, will read at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, in the Dell Brown Room of Turner Hall at UM. The reading is free and open to the public.

Wier teaches at the University of Massachusetts Program for Poets and Writers and the Juniper Summer Writing Institute. Her poetry has been supported by fellowships and awards from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the American Poetry Review. She is co-director and founder of the Juniper Initiative for Literary Arts and Action at UMass.

Her collections of poetry include "Selected Poems," "Remnants of Hannah," "Reverse Rapture," "Hat on a Pond," "Voyages in English," "Our Master Plan," "Blue for the Plough," "The Book of Knowledge," "All You Have in Common," "The 8-Step Grapevine" and "Blood, Hook & Eye."  Wier's work also has been included in recent volumes of Best American Poetry and The Pushcart Prize Anthology.

The reading is sponsored by the UM President's Writers-in-Residence Series. For more information, call Karin Schalm, program coordinator, UM Department of English, at 406-243-5267 or e-mail karin.schalm@umontana.edu.

UM, the Missoula International Airport and Horizon Air invite the public to join them for a tailgate to celebrate the unveiling of Horizon's new Griz-themed airplane from noon to 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19, at the airport.

The UM pep band and cheerleaders will be on hand for the festivities, and refreshments will be served. Missoula International Airport will provide free parking.

Horizon will unveil the freshly painted maroon and silver Q400 turboprop aircraft when Flight QX2348 arrives from Seattle at approximately 12:45 p.m.

Horizon announced last month that it will paint the airplane with UM's colors and logos and unveil it just in time for the Nov. 20 Griz-Cat football game in Missoula. Since it was already scheduled to be repainted, the new look will be provided at no cost to the University.

For more information, call Susan Roy, Horizon Air customer services manager, at 406-542-5097 ext. 8 or e-mail susan.roy@horizonair.com.

UM cross country coach Courtney Babcock, who last month led the Grizzlies to their first conference championship since 1984, was named the 2010 Big Sky Conference Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year, the league office announced Nov. 9. The award was based on voting by the Big Sky's cross country coaches.

Northern Arizona's Eric Heins was named the Big Sky Men's Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the Lumberjacks to the men's team title.

In her third season, Babcock's women's team will compete Saturday at the NCAA Mountain Regional meet in Salt Lake City. The Grizzlies will be attempting to earn the program's first team bid to the NCAA championship, which will be held Monday, Nov. 22, in Terre Haute, Ind.

The 13th/17th-ranked UM Grizzlies (6-3/5-2 Big Sky) will return from a week off to host the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux (3-6/0-4 Great West) Saturday, Nov. 13, in a non-league game in Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Kickoff is at 12:07 p.m.

Northern Colorado improved to 11-1 in Big Sky Conference play Nov. 5 with a commanding 3-0 sweep (25-21, 25-14, 25-18) of UM at the West Auxiliary Gym.

Montana out-hit Northern Colorado in the opening set and had an 18-15 lead after an attack error by UNC, but the Bears had a late surge to take the set and controlled the rest of the match.

Northern Colorado, the Big Sky's top offense team, hit .248 while limiting the Grizzlies to .106 hitting, and the Bears totaled 17 more kills.

On Nov. 6 Montana snapped its three-match losing streak with a 25-23, 25-19, 25-20 sweep of Northern Arizona at the West Auxiliary Gym. The win moved the Grizzlies into a two-way tie for third place in the Big Sky Conference standings with two weekends of regular-season matches remaining.

The Grizzlies hit .264, the team's second-highest hitting percentage of the season, while maintaining its defensive presence, out-digging the Lumberjacks by 23.

Junior Amy Roberts had 17 kills on .286 hitting from the left side, and freshman Kayla Reno added eight kills on .318 hitting. Freshman Brooke Bray came alive on the right side, finishing with six kills on .333 hitting.

Montana will face Sacramento State today at the Hornets Nest in the Grizzlies' final regular-season road match.

The Montana Grizzlies rode a double-double performance by Brian Qvale and a second half-surge to overcome a slow first half and defeat Lewis-Clark State 59-39 in exhibition action Nov. 4 in UM's Dahlberg Arena.

Lewis-Clark State kept the game within reach at halftime holding the Grizzlies to just 25 points on 36 percent (9-of-25) shooting. UM led 25-19 at intermission. After the half the Warriors went on a 12-minute scoreless streak, while the Grizzlies scored 31 points, allowing UM to build a 35-point second-half lead with 6:14 left to play.

Qvale had game-highs of 12 points and 13 rebounds in limited action (27 minutes), and he also blocked four shots.

Mathias Ward also scored in double digits, finishing the game with 11 points for the Griz in just 17 minutes. The Grizzlies are now headed into regular-season action, traveling to Reno, Nev., for a match-up against the University of Nevada Wolf Pack on Nov. 13.

The Lady Griz received 45 points from its bench Nov. 7 as Montana won their final exhibition game 72-41 over Great Falls at Dahlberg Arena.

Montana got a game-high 11 points from sophomore Katie Baker, 10 from senior Jessa Loman Linford, and nine each from sophomore Alexandra Hurley and freshman Torry Hill. Montana finished with a 44-39 rebounding advantage, shot 44.3 percent and turned the ball over just 11 times.

The Lady Griz open their regular season on the road when they play University of California-Riverside on Nov. 12 and Cal State-Bakersfield on Nov. 14.