IIRC some of them (the pythons) met at Oxford. I think at least one may have a higher degree of some sort.

I wouldn't at all be surprised if that was the case. Beyond degrees, though, they advanced comedy in a lot of ways. In two different parts of my life, Holy Grail and Life of Brian changed my attitude of what comedy was capable of doing. Gilliam's Brazil had a similar effect on me. And John Cleese was one of the best writers of his era. Still would be, though I'm not sure how much he writes nowadays.