They can definitely fit this, and are my preferred town type. I grew up and spent most my life around college towns and they're pretty great.

To add examples about the nearby metros: Moscow/Pullman on the Idaho/Washington border are college towns in the middle of a large farming community. Never any real need to travel to a city because they're too far away and the needs of the college keep the town in stock with everything you'd want anyway. Cheney on the other hand is close enough to Spokane that it uses Spokane's bus system (or used to idk haven't been there in years). Cheney is lacking a lot of essentials because people just go to Spokane for them.

Moscow/Pullman have tight knit communities while also being open and friendly. You just see so many people from different places coming in through the colleges. College towns are really the best middle ground of small town feel with city convenience I've been able to find.