Los Angeles ? UCLA coach Karl Dorrell has looked forward to joining a pretty exclusive fraternity his entire adult life.

Dorrell, the fourth black head coach in Division I-A, will be initiated today at one of his old haunts.

Dorrell seems cool, collected, unflappable about his new job — at least in dealings with the media. Admittedly, that’s a bit of a facade.

“Oh, yeah, there’s always that nervousness, that adrenaline that goes through your body,” Dorrell said. “I don’t know everything, I’m growing in this position. I’m very excited about it,” he said. “I’m confident everything will work out in the end.”

Dorrell gets his start at No. 24 Colorado, a 42-35 winner over then-No. 23 Colorado State last weekend. Dorrell spent four years as an assistant with the Buffaloes.

The Bruins have certainly come in under the radar in Dorrell’s rookie season. They were picked to finish sixth in the Pac-10 in a preseason media poll, and haven’t received a single point in the first two Associated Press polls this summer.

That will change should they beat the Buffaloes.

Dorrell succeeded Bob Toledo, who was fired Dec. 9 after recording a 49-32 record in seven seasons at UCLA.

Dorrell was hired nine days later — on his 39th birthday — joining Notre Dame’s Tyrone Willingham, San Jose State’s Fitz Hill and New Mexico State’s Tony Samuel as the only black coaches in major college football.

After playing as a wide receiver at UCLA from 1982-86, Dorrell was an assistant coach at the collegiate level for 12 years, including four as offensive coordinator at Colorado.

UCLA coach karl dorrell tosses the football during practice.