I can say that, at least back in the year 2003, it was quite popular in Japan to wear MIT branded sweatshirts. Even for people who did not watch anime. I'm not sure if that's just a trend or a persistent style.
The height of the cliche imo is Half Life 1's intro sequence. The only info you get about Gordon Freeman is that he is a young PhD graduate from MIT with a specialization in theoretical physics. It was a "this guy is the smartest guy around" line.
Being adjacent to MIT, the inflated egos are very exhausting. It's the top reason I would avoid working for them. That and academia is toxic with half market rate pay.