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In June, the Associated Press revealed the findings of a survey in which it asked 24 NCAA Division I head coaches whose programs have won 1,000 or more games since 1985 which type of bat they preferred. If the majority of surveyed coaches have their way, metal bats will stay in the college arena. Of the 22 coaches who offered their opinions, 17 said they preferred aluminum bats.

"College baseball's popularity is probably the highest it's ever been," California State University-Fullerton Head Coach Dave Serrano told the Associated Press. "The numbers show it. How many people attend the College World Series and keep watching it on ESPN? If it's not broke, why fix it?"

Though five coaches said they prefer wood bats, they also acknowledged that metal bats are likely here to stay. "I just don't see the aluminum bat hindering our game in any way," Mississippi State University Head Coach John Cohen told the Associated Press. "In an ideal world, wood would be cheap, very cost efficient and it would be totally equitable. That can never happen."

Division II coaches are being asked their opinions as well. Several conference commissioners are currently surveying their head coaches to see how receptive they would be to using wood bats only. The NCAA said in May that if the commissioners find coaches support the idea, aluminum bats may exit the division as early as the 2012 season.

Division II's Northeast-10, Central Atlantic Collegiate, and East Coast Conferences already use wood bats in league games, and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Commissioner Dan Mara thinks coaches will support a Division II ban of metal bats. "The coaches and players in our league love [playing with wood bats]," he told the NCAA News. "Our whole region has just bought into it so much that I've not heard anyone say, 'Gee, can we go back to using metal bats?'"

Whether the NCAA takes any action to ban non-wood bats or not, it has adjusted its bat standards. Composite bats, which include graphite, fiberglass, and resilient plastic, were banned for this past season after reports that though the bats passed initial testing, their performance improved with use. Of further concern was that in order to increase a bat's "trampoline" effect faster than through normal use in practices and games, players can "roll" a bat or hit it against a hard surface.

Composite bats are no longer banned by the the NCAA. However, they must meet the standard known as the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR), which now applies to all bats used in NCAA play. The new standard includes an accelerated break-in test that will ensure bats' performance remains consistent over time.

The NFHS will adopt the BBCOR standards in 2012 while retaining the previous standard, known as Ball Exit Speed Ratio (BESR) ratio, for 2011. However, similar to last year's NCAA prohibition, the NFHS is banning composite bats from play in 2011 unless they have passed an accelerated break-in test in addition to the BESR tests.

At the high school level, a highly-publicized incident in which a pitcher suffered a major head injury after being hit with a ball struck by a metal bat resulted in new calls for metal bat bans. In March, 16 year-old California high school pitcher Gunnar Sandberg was put into a medically induced coma after his skull was fractured by a batted ball. He remained in the coma for three weeks.

After Sandberg's injury, his Marin Catholic High School team finished the season playing with wood bats, and some of its opponents switched to wood bats when playing the Wildcats. Marin County officials submitted a proposal to the North Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation that would have banned metal bats as teams headed into the postseason in May, but it was defeated. Some of those voting supported banning metal bats, but said the middle of the season was not a feasible time to do so.

In May, the state Senate Education Committee forwarded a bill that would have put a one-year moratorium on metal bat use in high schools to the full Senate for consideration. State assemblyman Jared Huffman, who submitted the bill, said the ban would allow schools and governing officials to review and update their safety standards.

In August, however, the proposal was dropped after Huffman and Marie Ichida, Executive Director of the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF), agreed that the CIF would immediately adopt the BBCOR standard used by the NCAA, instead of waiting until 2012. The CIF also agreed to encourage the use of protective head gear for pitchers, infielders, and coaches and help develop standards for such equipment.

So what are the pros and cons of continuing to allow metal bats in high school and college? One point metal bat supporters come back to time and again is cost. While metal bats can be used season after season, wood bats are much more prone to breaking, meaning schools may need bigger budgets if they have to replace them throughout a season.

Wood bat supporters counter that argument by saying the number of wood bats broken during an average season will not amount to much--if any--more expenditures than the annual purchase of a few new metal bats. They also note that the life of a wood bat can be extended if teams use composite or metal bats during practices.

Baseball traditionalists say that the game was meant to be played with wood bats. And because Major League Baseball uses wood bats, college and high school players looking to play in the pros would be better prepared for the highest level of competition.

But proponents of metal bats point to the fact that fans like home runs and big hits, and the college game has thrived in recent years because of that. Finally, no data exists that says metal bats result in more injuries than wood bats. Pitchers have been seriously hurt after being hit with balls batted off of wood bats as well as metal.

Whichever side of the fence you stand on, there are valid arguments for both metal and wood bats. As the debate rages on, one thing is for certain: It shows no signs of going away.

Abigail Funk is an Associate Editor at Athletic Management.