Frank Conti’s number, 97, will not be worn this season.

In addition, the Stony Brook football team will be wearing a memorial sticker with his jersey number on their helmets. The team will always have Frank beside them.

Conti, a defensive tackle for the Seawolves who graduated in May 2011, died suddenly at work on July 17 of myocarditis, a cold-like virus that causes swelling in the heart and is common in athletes.

“He was a very strong person,” said Francine Conti, his mother. “He never quit… he was loyal and dedicated. He had a great personality.”

Conti had played football in sixth grade and continued through his years at Sachem North High School.

According to his profile on the Seawolves website, he was captain of his high school team during his senior year and was named an All-league selection. He was also noted for his skill in track and wrestling.

Conti also played football for Nassau Community College.

He graduated with a degree in sociology and was working as a bouncer in Allen Park.

Conti went through a lot due to football injuries.

He tore his anterior cruciate ligament, which left him on the sidelines for the 2009 season.

He also had knee surgery while playing for the Seawolves.

Despite the difficulty, he never stopped smiling.

“He was a person of high character,” said head football coach Chuck Priore. “He powered over any situation, I think because he was taught well at home. He loved life and gave everything he had.”

Priore continued, “He had a great love for birds. Just picture this six-three, two hundred plus pound guy sitting there looking at birds.

I think he liked them because they were free like he was free of problems.”

Two years ago, Conti passed out at football practice.

Upon medical review, doctors said that he might have myocarditis — the very disease that would eventually take his life — but ruled it out and permitted him to play again.

“He never should have been cleared to play football,” said his mother.

Frank’s death was “out of the blue,” said Francine. “He was bouncing and he just collapsed.”

The Stony Brook University football team held a ceremony in Frank’s memory on Aug. 14. Speeches were given by coach Priore and his teammates.

At the Sept. 17 game against Brown University, a moment of silence was observed for Frank.

“You wouldn’t find a better teammate,” Priore said. “He made you laugh. He kept you going.”

The Conti family has requested that anyone interested in making a donation in Frank’s memory should please make it to the Stony Brook Football Fund for Excellence in his name.

When asked if there was anything that Frank would want the Stony Brook community to remember him by, his mother mentioned a saying that he created and got tattooed: “Perseverance and persistence distinguish the strong from the weak.”