Assistant Professor
Department of Sport AnalyticsContact
harafiqu@syr.eduDepartment
Location
Syracuse, New York, 13244Extras
Pronouns: He, HimBiography
Hassan Rafique (he/him/his) joined the Department of Sport Analytics in the David B. Falk College of Sport in Fall 2025 as a tenure-track assistant professor. He teaches classes in sport analytics, primarily statistical analysis and machine learning.
Prior to joining Syracuse University, Rafique was an assistant professor of instruction from 2023-25 at the University of Iowa, where he taught programming, machine learning, and visualization. Previously, he served as an assistant professor of data science and the founding director of the Center for Data Science at the University of Indianapolis from 2020-23.
Rafique's research interests are sport analytics, machine learning, and optimization. He specifically focuses on developing advanced methods and tools to estimate and predict the performance of individual players and teams, which is crucial information for team front offices. His work on cricket analytics was recognized at the Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Conference and the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Research Conference. His research has been published at the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML), Journal of Machine Learning Research, and Optimization Methods and Software.
Rafique won first place in the reproducible research competition at the 2022 Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Conference. He received the 2024 Tippie Instructor Award for the business analytics program. His work on interpretable machine learning received a best paper runners-up award at the Data Mining Conference at 2019 INFORMS. He was nominated for the prestigious Hancher Finkbine student medallion in 2019. He received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant award in 2017, and a graduate teaching fellowship in 2018.
Rafique earned a Ph.D. in applied mathematical and computational sciences from the University of Iowa in 2020. He completed an M.S. in mathematics from Western Illinois University in 2015 and a B.S. in mathematics from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in 2012. He attained a Certificate of College Teaching from the University of Iowa in 2019.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
- Graduate Certificate, Office of Graduate Teaching Excellence, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, . Major: College Teaching
- M.S., Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, . Major: Mathematics
- B.S., Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, . Major: Mathematics
Active Research
Sponsored Research
- Hassan Rafique (PD/PI) Jeremy Losak (Co-PD/PI) , Growing Accessible Biomechanics Data and Analysis with Computer Vision - Society for American Baseball Research - Not for Profit/Foundation Grant. End Date: 2027-10-01
Published Scholarship
Publications
- Rafique, H., Liu, M., Lin, Q. and Yang, T., 2021. Weakly-convex–concave min–max optimization: provable algorithms and applications in machine learning. Optimization Methods and Software, [online] 37(3), pp.1087–1121. https://doi.org/10.1080/10556788.2021.1895152.
- M LiuHassan RafiqueQ LinT Yang (2021). First-order Convergence Theory for Weakly-Convex-Weakly-Concave Min-max Problems. Journal of Machine Learning, 22(1) , 7651-7684.
- Hassan RafiqueT WangQ LinA Singhani (2020). Transparency Promotion with Model-Agnostic Linear Competitors. In Proceedings of the Thirty Seven International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML). , 119, 7898-7908.
- Rafique, H., Lin, Q., Wang, T., Han, W., Burer, S. and Yang, T.,Provable methods for non-convex min-max optimization and models for interpretable machine learning. [online] https://doi.org/10.17077/etd.005549.
- Hassan RafiqueT WangQ Lin (2019). Model-Agnostic Linear Competitors: When Interpretable Models Compete and Collaborate with Black-box Models. In Third INFORMS Workshop on Data Science.
- M LiuHassan RafiqueQ LinT Yang (2018). Provable Non-Convex Min-Max Optimization. In Smooth game optimization and machine learning workshop, NeurIPS.
- Imran, M., Rafique, H., Khan, A. and Malik, T., 2013. A model of bi-mode transmission dynamics of hepatitis C with optimal control. Theory in Biosciences, [online] 133(2), pp.91–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12064-013-0197-0.
Presentations
- Hassan Rafique (2025). Umpires Under Surveillance—Analyzing Triple-A Umpire Performance Under The Challenge System [Poster]. Presented at Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, United States, 2025-10-25.
- Hassan Rafique (2025). A Comparison of Batter Performance and League Quality Across Domestic T-20 Cricket Leagues [Poster]. Presented at New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports, Boston, MA, United States, 2025-09-27.
- Hassan RafiquecricWAR: A reproducible system for player performance in limited-overs cricket [Poster]. Presented at MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Competition, MA, 2023-03-01.
- Hassan RafiqueA comprehensive framework for evaluating plays and player performance in American Ultimate Disc League [Oral Presentation]. Presented at Team Boston Glory, MA, 2023-01-01.
- Hassan RafiquecricWAR: A reproducible system for player performance in limited-overs cricket [Oral Presentation]. Presented at Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Competition, PA, 2022-10-01.
- Hassan RafiqueLessons Learned: A Recent Graduate’s Suggestions for Succeeding After Graduate School [Oral Presentation]. Presented at AAU Initiative Colloquium, IA, 2021-04-01.
- Hassan RafiqueModel-Agnostic Linear Competitors: When Interpretable Models Compete and Collaborate with Black-box Models [Oral Presentation]. Presented at INFORMS Third Data Science Workshop, Seattle, WA, 2019-10-01.
- Hassan RafiqueOracle Complexity of a Trust Region Method for Non-Convex Min-Max Problem [Oral Presentation]. Presented at INFORMS Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, 2019-10-01.
- Hassan RafiqueIntroduction to Machine Learning [Oral Presentation]. Presented at Central College Mathematics Colloquium, Pella, IA, 2019-04-01.
- Hassan RafiqueReflection & Adaptation: Catalyst for Teaching Improvement [Oral Presentation], 2019-04-01.
Honors, Awards, and Recognition
- Instructor of the Year [Master's Program], Tiipie College of Business, The University of Iowa (received: 2025)
- ’Thank-a-Teacher’ honor, Center for Teaching, The University of Iowa
- Finalist, Boston Glory Data Modeling Challenge, Boston Glory, American Ultimate Disc League
- Poster Finalist, Research Paper Competition, MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference
- Best Paper Award, Reproducible Research Competition, Carnegie Mellon Sports Analytics Competition
- Best Paper Award Runner-Up, Third INFORMS Workshop on Data Science, INFORMS College on Artificial Intelligence
- Graduate & Profession Student Government Travel Grant, The University of Iowa
- Hancher-Finkbine Medallion (Nominee), The University of Iowa
- Post-Comprehensive Research Fellowship, Graduate College, The University of Iowa
- Summer Fellowship, Graduate College, The University of Iowa