He also generally avoids calling BYU their rival. He always refers to them as the "in-state rival." Both are attempts to belittle the school in order to place Utah at a level superior to BYU. It isn't just him. The entire sports department at Utah seemed to be trying to distinguish themselves as a class above while part of the pac-12. Why do you think the pac-12 logo was on every item of Utah paraphernalia?
Heck, even you are admitting here that calling BYU by their name is a "promotion" from "team down south." So, you acknowledge that it is a worse. It's part of an entire universities attempt to tell another university that they are less than. It's snobby and classless. It's...very Utah.