University of South Dakota Athletics

Al Sega joined South Dakota's coaching staff in the summer of 2017 after spending nearly two decades as a high school and collegiate coach in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Sega works primarily with the Coyotes' defensive line.
 
In his first season at USD, the Coyotes improved their run defense by 100 yards, finished fifth nationally in sacks and competed in the FCS playoffs for the first time. Progress continued in year two in 2018 as defensive end Darin Greenfield finished on the final ballot for national defensive player of the year while earning all-America honors for the second straight season. USD moved to a 3-4 look in 2019 and that led to the emergence of interior linemen Kameron Cline and DeValon Whitcomb in support of Greenfield, who finished as the Coyotes' all-time leader in tackles-for-loss. Cline was signed by the Indianapolis Colts and Whitcomb was granted an NCAA waiver to extend his eligibility one more season.

South Dakota is the third program that Sega has served under Bob Nielson. The two previously teamed up at both Wisconsin-Eau Claire and at Minnesota Duluth.

Sega competed collegiately at UW-Eau Claire in both the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Since then, he has served on the coaching staff at UW-Eau Claire for five years, and was a football coach at Eau Claire Memorial High School for 12 years. His only deviation came when he followed Nielson from Eau Claire to Minnesota Duluth in 1999 and served on Nielson’s staff thru the 2003 campaign.
 
When Nielson resigned at Duluth at the end of the 2003 season to become the department’s athletic director, Sega returned to Wisconsin and began at Memorial. He served as defensive line coach for three seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator, and was named co-head coach in 2009. Sega kept those titles until 2016 when he returned to the staff at UW-Eau Claire.
 
In addition to his coaching duties, Sega spent 21 years as a manager at Eau Claire County Children’s Court Services where he provided administrative support and directed supervision to staff of Children’s Court Services units. Sega has also been a case worker, a detention worker and training officer in Eau Claire.

Sega earned his bachelor’s degree from UW-Superior in 1996. He and his wife, Meleina, have four children, Avery, Meleina, Mickey and Ashley, and two grandchildren, McKeague and Catalina.