The Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy told News 9 this week that INTEGRIS Health’s decision to close its childcare programs this August shares similarities to and differences from the hundreds of other center closures around the state.

Integris Health announced earlier this week that it would end its childcare in August.

Joe Dorman, Chief Executive Officer for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy said he is disappointed by the move, but not surprised.

“This was a wonderful thing the hospital provided, but ultimately they have to keep their doors open and cover for patients.”

With the rising costs of living and a reduction in subsidies, hundreds of childcare centers in Oklahoma have had to close their doors since last November.

“We’ve seen daycares shut down left and right that are private businesses, and this has really been the next line of what we’re seeing with those business-run childcares closing their doors,” Dorman shared.

When businesses are faced with cuts, he said, “this is one of those things that will go away first, because it was a benefit for the families. It wasn’t something that they viewed as an essential part of the work.”

Dorman said parents losing care from INTEGRIS Health face a growing problem – finding a new, licensed provider.

“It’s a struggle to find one that’s close to you, and then you have to look at the affordability. We have some families that simply can’t find one that’s affordable.”

Add in wait lists… Dorman compared the cost of childcare to the cost of college.

“We’ve seen individuals who have had to quit their jobs just because they can’t afford childcare.”

Dorman acknowledged in some situations, older kids miss school to watch younger siblings.

He added that he expects more closures from private pay and employer-run daycares.

“That’s going to be a cut back that many businesses will consider.”

Anyone struggling to find childcare should contact their state representative, Dorman finished.

March Madness has officially arrived.

It’s a quick turn-around as the 68 teams in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament learned their fate on Sunday night and some will play as quickly as Tuesday, March 17.

Eight teams will head to Oklahoma City for the first round of the NCAA Tournament beginning on Thursday, March 19, while the rest head to their host site for the first and second round games.

Here is everything you need to know in order to buy March Madness tickets in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City March Madness tickets

Tickets for the First and Second Round are already available. Tickets are sold in packages, either for Thursday evening, Saturday evening, or an all-session pass to all six games in OKC.

OKC First Round Session I tickets

Tickets for Session I include tickets to No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 13 Troy and No. 12 McNeese vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt on Thursday afternoon. Thursday afternoon tickets start at $127.

OKC First Round Session II tickets

Tickets for Session I include tickets to No. 10 Texas A&M vs. No. 7 St. Mary’s and No. 15 Idaho vs. No. 2 Houston on Thursday evening. Thursday night tickets start at $42.

OKC Second Round March Madness

A ticket for Saturday March Madness in Oklahoma City permits entry to both Round of 32 games, featuring all four winners from Thursday’s action. Saturday March Madness OKC tickets start at $173.

Oklahoma City All-Session tickets

If you want to see all the games in Oklahoma City, an all-access pass gets you the same lower-level seat for all four games. Oklahoma City March Madness passes start at $674.

Shop OKC All-Sessions passes

OKC March Madness teams

The following eight teams will play in OKC on Thursday evening. The winners will advance to the Round of 32 and play their next games on Saturday, March 21.

Where to stay in Oklahoma City for March Madness basketball

OKC March Madness schedule

The First Round games will take place on Thursday, March 19, with Second Round games taking place on Saturday, March 21. Here are the schedule tipoff times for the March Madness games in Oklahoma City:

• No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 13 Troy at 12:40 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 19 – Shop tickets
• No. 12 McNeese vs. No. 5 Vanderbilt at 3:15 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 19 – Shop tickets
• No. 10 Texas A&M vs. No. 7 St. Mary’s at 7:35 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 19 – Shop tickets
• No. 15 Idaho vs. No. 2 Houston at 10:10 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 19 – Shop tickets

Shop all OKC March Madness tickets

Where to stay in OKC for March Madness

When does March Madness start?

See below for the entire schedule for the men’s NCAA Tournament:

• First Four: March 17-18
• Round of 64: March 19-20
• Round of 32: March 21-22
• Sweet 16: March 26-27
• Elite 8: March 28-29
• Final Four:April 4
• National Championship: April 6

For the fourth time in five seasons, the Oklahoma Sooners were denied a chance among the 68-team field in the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Oklahoma did not appear among the field of 32 for the National Invitational Tournament when their bracket was released late Sunday evening. Oklahoma declined an invite to the postseason tournament.

This follows a stretch where the Sooners won eight of their final 11 games of the season, including post-season conference tournament play. OU beat South Carolina and Texas A&M in the first and seond rounds of the SEC Tournament only to lose to eventual champion Arkansas by three points.

Oklahoma finished their season 19-15. Considering the hole they dug themselves from Jan. 7 to Feb. 3, losing a program record-tying nine consecutive games, OU’s late-season push was quite the accomplishment. With two quadrant one victories on the road against Texas and a neutral-court victory over A&M, Oklahoma gave themselves outside hope that they could be dancing further into March.

Oklahoma has not played in the NIT since Porter Moser’s first season in Norman in 2021-22. OU would beat Missouri State 89-72 int he first round and lose to St. Bonaventure 70-68 in the second round. Moser’s squad would decline an NIT bid two seasons later.

OU is 11-8 all-time in the NIT, reaching the NIT Finals in 1991 before losing to Stanford.

In five seasons, Moser has been one of the first teams out of the NCAA Tournament field four times. In his lone appearance as the Sooners’ head coach in 2024-25, OU was one of the last teams in. Moser is 93-74 during his run as the University of Oklahoma’s basketball coach.

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New Oklahoma athletic director Roger Denny announced on Saturday that Moser would return for his sixth season as OU’s head coach citing a desire to “ensure that our resources match our expectations.

“We haven’t held up our end of that bargain,” Denny added on his X account. “From NIL to staffing and beyond, we’re going to fix that.”

Following this season, OU stands to lose seniors Mo Wague, Tae Davis, Kirill Elatontse, Jeff Nwankwo, Nijel Pack, Reid Lovelace and Jadon Jones. The question now moves to if Moser can retain players like Xzayvier Brown, Derrion Reid, Dayton Forsythe, Kuol Atak and Kai Rogers while going into the transfer portal to bring in more talent for 2026-27.