My grandparents lived in SLC and went to the U. I don't know if it was a term of derision. I don't think it was.
I also don't believe my grandparents were the only ones that said it that way. I recall hearing other relatives call it that. But again, these are people who would have gone to college by 1930, so that's the timeframe that it was likely being used. They hung onto the phrase, as old people often do.
Maybe it was unique to my relatives.