"Some people have created a doomsday for the Catholic League," said Sette, athletic director at Archbishop Wood and chairman of the league's board of directors. "I don't believe that for a moment."
Sette has scheduled a board meeting on Thursday at Archbishop Carroll for the athletic heads to discuss issues such as scheduling and alignment.
After closing two schools - Cardinal Dougherty and Northeast Catholic - in 2007, the league has operated as a single division for all sports except for football. Football has had three divisions based on size.
Not all schools participate in all sports offered by the league, which means some sports could have as few as six or seven teams competing. Sette did not see that as a problem.
"I am sad and sorry for the all the people - students, teachers, maintenance workers - impacted by the closings, but now that the decision has been made, the board is committed to the league's legacy," Sette said. "I am confident that we can be as competitive as we've been in the past."
Sette said he expected to spend as much as all day Thursday on scheduling. The league's 2012 fall schedules had not been developed yet because the schools designated for closing had not been disclosed.
"Life goes on," Archbishop Carroll girls' lacrosse coach Lorraine Beers said. "We had 10 [girls' lacrosse] teams this year. Now we'll have seven. In the 1990s, St. Hubert was the team to beat. Now I'm shocked to hear they are one of the schools closing."
Beers pointed out there are several options for realignment. Although recently the league has played a format in which each team faces another only once in every sport except football, it could go back to a twice-around format.
"We'll have to see how it all pans out," Beers said.
Contact staff writer Don Beideman at 267-815-0733 or dbeideman@phillynews.com.
