As I reported earlier this month, three metro conferences have formed a five-year agreement to assist the five-school Classic Lake in finding non-conference opponents. (The earlier story can be found HERE.)

The Classic Lake, Northwest Suburban and Lake (which will become the South Suburban next fall) issued a formal announcement this morning. The first steps in the agreement will take place this fall, when two teams from the NW Suburban and two from the South Suburban will meet Classic Lake teams in football. Other sports will follow in later years.

All the 2010 football matchups are not set. We do know that Osseo of the NW Suburban will play at Minnetonka of the Classic Lake and Hopkins (Classic Lake) will go to Centennial (NW Suburban). Games between Classic Lake and South Suburban teams have not been decided.

Here's the full announcement:

Representatives of the Northwest Suburban, Lake and Classic Lake conferences today announced an agreement regarding the scheduling of non-conference athletic events over the next five years.

The agreement is the product of a series of meetings which were held to discuss the scheduling of non-conference games when the new South Suburban Conference begins this fall. The South Suburban will consist of nine of the 12 current Lake Conference high schools plus Prior Lake from the Missota, leaving Eden Prairie and the four merging Classic Lake Conference schools in a new 5-member Lake Conference. (Chaska and Chanhassen are leaving the Lake after this year to join the Missota Conference.) These changes created concerns about the viability of a five-member conference. Representatives from the three conferences discussed individual conference issues, reviewed options for non-conference scheduling and agreed that school administrators are best able to resolve issues by proactively supporting students in all school communities who participate in education-based athletic and fine arts programs. A scheduling agreement was recommended in order to prevent possible conference dissolutions and subsequent placements. Under terms of the scheduling agreement, effective July 1, 2010 through June 30, 2015, the Northwest Suburban and South Suburban conferences agree to have member schools schedule a specified number of games with Lake Conference schools for the sports of football, basketball, hockey, baseball and softball. • For football, both conferences agree to have at least two member schools schedule games with Lake Conference schools in 2010-11 and that number goes to six games each for each of the remaining four years of the agreement. • For boys' and girls' basketball, hockey, baseball and softball, no games are required in 2010-11, and for the remaining four years there would be 11 games per season with Northwest Suburban schools and 10 games per season with South Suburban schools (one per school per sport/season). All three conferences agree to remain separate and independent, and will not dissolve during the term of the agreement for purposes of making application to one of the other conferences. John Millea is on Twitter at twitter.com/stribjohn