Sister Marie Therese Carr doesn't sprinkle the athletes with holy water before a game, like one of her colleagues at Neumann University, but her blessings permeate the team just as deeply.

"She's like our biggest fan," said Melissa "Liddy" Haines, 21, a member of the girls' volleyball team at the Aston, Delaware County, school.

"Like our mascot," chimed in another player. "Our grandmother," said a third. "She just lifts our spirits," added a fourth.

The 70-something retired high school English teacher is the team's chaplain, and at Neumann, all 19 sports teams have one.

It isn't about calling upon God for winning: The chaplains lead teams in prayer before games, offer guidance on personal and school issues, lend an ear during losses and roster cuts, and point out good sportsmanship and not-so-good.

All volunteer; they are part of a larger emphasis at the Catholic Franciscan college on the close tie between sports and spirituality.

A 2006 survey showed that most Catholic colleges around the country do not have sports chaplains, and those that do have only one or two, mostly for high-profile sports.

Only a few are like the 3,100-student Neumann, with chaplains for all teams - from ice hockey to basketball and lacrosse, said Stephanie Taylor, program coordinator of Neumann's Institute for Sport, Spirituality and Character Development, which conducted the survey. One of them is St. Francis University in Loretto, in Western Pennsylvania.

Neumann on Saturday opened a $25 million sports center, which has a classroom and athletic facilities and emphasizes the link between sports and spirituality espoused by its institute. The center is named after university president Rosalie Mirenda and her family.

It includes 24-foot lighted pillars for each of five key themes: respect, balance, reflection, beauty, and play. The pillars, which shine through the glass building front and onto the gym floor, feature professional athletes, quotes and stories that illustrate charity, commitment to personal relationships, ability to overcome adversity, and reliance on prayer, among other aspects.

"We believe God is very present on the sports field, on the court, in the classroom. Our hope is through some of our programming, that we can shine some light on that," said Taylor, 34, a former campus minister who has a master's degree in theology and another in sports management.

Impressed with the program, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has asked Neumann to introduce the philosophy, including the chaplain program, to the high schools in its five-county area.

"It's a wholesome understanding of sports and competition, rather than what can sometimes get distorted," said Bishop Joseph McFadden, the archdiocese's vicar for Catholic education.

Mirenda, who sat in the stands during Saturday's volleyball game after the center's opening ceremony, was pleased. "I'm glad we can share this," she said.

Neumann began the chaplain program in 1997, seeking more spiritual connection with athletes. The university began with about eight chaplains. Now there are 16, including nuns and lay people, from administrators to faculty members and the head of maintenance.

The chaplains get a two-day training in prayer, listening skills, and psychology, and they take workshops on stress, anxiety, and relationships.

They also attend "mid-season reflections" with their teams at the mother house of the Sisters of St. Francis at Philadelphia.

Chaplains differ in approach.

Taylor, chaplain for women's tennis and lacrosse, had the tennis team to her house for dinner and then bowling, and spent spring break with the lacrosse team in Florida. She also communicates with players regularly by e-mail.

Sister Linda DeCero, the men's baseball chaplain and a diehard Phillies' fan, sprinkles players' wrists, gloves and pitching arms with holy water. She also gives them Dots - the candy.