Cellphone Castoffs Create Headache for U. of Missouri Athletics

When the University of Missouri’s athletics department sold 25 old cellphones this past summer at a university auction, athletics officials forgot to do one thing: Erase the phones’ memory. A resident of Columbia, Mo., purchased the phones for $190, intending to resell their parts, but discovered contacts, text messages, and e-mail from Missouri’s athletic director and head football and basketball coaches. Unfortunately for rivals in Kansas, the recovered messages contained no secret strategies or recruiting tips.