Couple of universities take the high ground after the box debacle (8)
I believe the answer is:
oxbridge
'couple of universities' is the definition.
'oxbridge' can be an answer for 'universities' (I have seen 'Elitist universities ' mean 'oxbridge' so perhaps 'universities' could also mean 'oxbridge'). I'm not certain of the 'couple of' bit.
'the high ground after the box debacle' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'ground' could be 'ridge' (I have seen 'High ground' mean 'ridge' so perhaps 'ground' could also mean 'ridge') and 'ridge' is found within the answer.
an anagram of 'box' is 'oxb' which is within the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'take' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for oxbridge that I've seen before include "Oxford and Cambridge Universities" , "Generic term for an ancient, privileged, university" , "Home of the Boat Race crews" , "Universities united" , "centres of academic excellence" .)