By Jesus Coronel

Riverside City College hired Cliff Dochterman as its new athletic director.

In his first month as director, Dochterman has said one goal is to bring visibility to the program.

“I have a lot of contacts (in the Inland Empire) and I think I can do a lot to help this athletic program grow,” he said. “The plans are to help everybody get more resources, so I’ll need to fundraise and market more people to come to our games.”

As a longtime resident of Riverside County, Dochterman has been given the opportunity to settle down in the city he loves while doing the job he loves.

“I have lived here since 1996,” Dochterman said. “It was just natural for me to want to stay here and I got a nice house, friends and community.”

Dochterman has had prior experiences in the sports industry, previously working at several NCAA colleges such as the University of Michigan and the University of California, Santa Cruz.

“I really enjoy everything about college athletics,” Dochterman said. “Especially being around high achieving people and coaches.”

With his experience and the personal connections he’s made throughout his career, Dochterman hopes to bring something new to this position.

As of right now there have been some issues with the football field at Wheelock Stadium. It has been deemed unusable for games and other facilities that could use updates.

“I’d like to add some facilities and upgrade our current ones here, and make sure our student-athletes have the best possible experience they can have,” he said.

The football team kicks off its season with an away game against Long Beach City College at 6 p.m. on Sept. 2.