The Liverpool midfielder toured the £25.5m Tom Reilly Building at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU).
The centre will house the School of Sports and Exercise Sciences, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology.
The England star said the university's sports degrees meant football and other sports were no longer seen as "only a game, but as science".
'Everton supporter'
"It's a great privilege to be launching the building named in honour of Professor Tom Reilly.
"Like me, his two great passions in life were football and family.
"I've been told he was actually an Everton supporter but he loved the game as a whole and I've been assured that he would have been happy for me to officially launch the new facility."
The centre houses equipment for each of the schools - from a scanner for measuring body fat, muscles and bone density, to lie detectors and eye-tracking equipment.
LJMU Vice-Chancellor Professor Michael Brown said: "In order to have 'fit for purpose' graduates you need 'fit for purpose' buildings, where students can gain both a thorough grounding of their chosen academic discipline and secure, vital work-related skills and experience."
Source: BBC Sport
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