That creature will be buzzing around the Mountaineer Field sideline in 2017.

WVU will entertain the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s Delaware State on Sept. 16, 2017, at Mountaineer Field. It will be the first time the two schools have played.

The Mountaineers will pay the Hornets $500,000 for the visit, and Delaware State is due no other compensation for the matchup. WVU, which is 16-0 against FCS teams, paid Liberty $400,000 last season and will pay Youngstown State $500,000 this season.

If either team cancels the game more than a year in advance, it pays the other team $300,000. That fee jumps to $500,000 if the game is canceled with less than a year remaining before the game.

We’ve seen a few iterations of WVU’s scheduling model — no FCS teams, maybe FCS teams, different ADs, different takes and now different conference initiatives — and it was unfair to hold the Mountaineers to one philosophy.

And the FCS is fine. You’re likely to see more and not less in the future.

As a fan of competition or a holder of season tickets, you might not agree with this, but understand a Group of Five team is going to expect WVU to pay twice as much for a game. You’ll be told finances matter, though I have to believe that holds less and less weight as these big 12 checks grow bigger and bigger. Honestly, when you’re banking $30 million before IMG cuts a check, what’s too much for a home game?

But forget that. The truth is the Mountaineers don’t need to and ought not to do more than what their Big 12 peers do, and as long as there isn’t a conference-wide referendum on the FCS, why not do it? Get a W. Be sure the other two September games matter — and WVU is secure there — but don’t jeopardize one or both of those, either.

That’s going to become more common with the introduction of a conference championship game. If teams are going to play a 13th game, and if that 13th game is supposed to give a team the push it needs to reach the College Football Playoff, they’re not inclined to stress themselves as much in the non-conference.

If the Big 12 goes to eight conference games, you’ll definitely have more FCS games. And, agian, the FCS is fine. Delaware State — 3-20 and outscored 769-294 the past seasons — is not. There are truly more worthy programs out there, but it’s pretty late for a FCS team to be adding to the 2017 schedule. I imagine the pickings were slim.

The Mountaineers have one non-conference opening from 2018-24 and no FCS teams on the slate, but you can be certain that’s going to change. As for 2017, the season ticket package is going to be a tough sell: East Carolina, Delaware State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech (Virginia Tech at FedEx Field is not part of the package).