Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Athletic Director Alexis McCoy has been named the Dave Harris Athletic Director of the Year by the North Carolina High School Athletic Association.

McCoy joined WS/FCS in 1999 and previously served as a teacher, coach, and assistant athletic director. When she became the district’s athletic director in 2023, she was the first woman ever to hold the position. Now, she’s been recognized for her elite leadership at the state level, although she doubts that she’d have made it this far without an excellent team of school-level athletic directors backing her up.

McCoy says she never had ambitions of attaining a role this big when she first joined the district, but she’s continued to grow her career because of her belief in the transformative power of school sports. For decades, she’s seen athletics motivate students to stay in school and do their best. Her job keeps her busy coordinating dozens of sports and thousands of people, but she does it all to provide student athletes with more opportunities to succeed.

“I like being able to help our student athletes because I’ve seen what athletics can do for our kids,” McCoy said. “I hope this position gives me more chances to help more of our students.”