Why so punchy?
I live in the NYC area. BYU is not a widely perceived as a top tier program as you say. Sure people know us, but we are not in the top tier (not even in the ballpark, both academically and athletically).
People on CB greatly over exaggerate BYU's draw. Saying people know of us is true, saying they know of our academic and athletic prowess is "dishonest/ignorant" :).
We are not an "it" academic school nor "it" athletic program; sure people know of us like A LOT of schools. In my opinion (not dishonest, but an opinion), we are not an "it" program. This pains me to say it...most don't know a massive difference in the quality of BYU and Utah. Gasp.