They lost their first 13 matches of the GUINNESS PRO12 season, before consecutive successes over Cardiff Blues and Newport Gwent Dragons have them homing their signs on Italian rivals Zebre - who are just four points ahead in the table.
Kieran the key?
Owned by Benetton clothing since 1979, the club swept all before them in the domestic Italian league after the advent of professionalism - winning ten titles between 1997 and 2010.
Their best result since joining the PRO12 six years ago is a seventh-place finish in 2012-13, hinting of what they could become if Crowley waves his wand over the club.
Crowley, who won the Rugby World Cup as a player with New Zealand in 1987, ended an eight-year stay with Canada to take up the opportunity.
And he will preside over a club that has had no trouble producing international class players, with Italy skipper Sergio Parisse having learned his trade at Treviso.
A seventh place finish in 2012-2013 also hints at a potentially bright future for the Italians - indeed it was not so long ago that they were a match for anyone.
Greatest Season - 2012-2013
Under the guidance of South African Franco Smith, who now coaches Super Rugby side Cheetahs, the campaign was undoubtedly Treviso's most successful season since joining the GUINNESS PRO 12.
After losing nine of their final ten league games in 2011-2012, including a 41-19 thrashing to Ospreys in Round 19, Treviso produced a dramatic turnaround in the 2012-2013 season opener by defeating Steve Tandy's side 12-6 thanks to four Kris Burton penalties.
Although Smith's side were set to achieve unrivalled success, it is a case of what could have been for the Italian outfit. They were on several occasions within minutes of famous victories over heavyweight opposition, only to fall painfully at the final hurdle.
It took a 79th minute Jonathan Sexton drop-goal to deny the Italians 19-18 against Leinster, who had been leading 18-13 with six minutes left in the game at the Stadio Monigo.
Alberto Di Bernardo missed a very kickable last minute penalty to gift the then unbeaten Ulster a 16-15 victory in November.
Insult was added to injury when Dean Budd's last play try drew the Italians level at the Kingspan stadium in the return fixture and Di Bernardo was again off-target with a conversion attempt which would have clinched a famous victory for the men from Veneto.
Nevertheless, Treviso completed league doubles over Scarlets, Edinburgh and Zebre, with further wins over Newport Gwent Dragons, Irish heavyweights Munster and Cardiff Blues, while hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini and back-row Alessandro Zanni were named in the league's Dream Team.
One to watch - Matteo Zanusso
Another product of the Italian front-row assembly line, Zanusso has been a bright spot for Treviso this season. He is as dynamic with ball in hand as he is effective at scrum-time.
At 22, he is precociously talented for a prop and after being capped for Italy for the first time this year, he is set to become a mainstay for the Azzurri.
He is sure to be a cornerstone in Crowley's plans next year as they look to build around their youngsters.
Treviso all-time XV
15. Luke McLean
The 77-cap full-back had a brief sojourn in Manchester with Sale Sharks last season, but returned to the club where he found his feet as an international. Earns his place for his integral role in the successes of 2012-2013.
14. John Kirwan
With 35 tries in 63 All Blacks tests, Kirwan is a bonafide great of the game and plied his trade with Benetton Treviso for four years from 1985 to 1989. A shoo-in on the right wing.
13. Michele Campagnaro
Supremely talented centre Campagnaro won man of the match on debut against Connacht in 2013 and has been exceptional ever since, lighting up Italy's back-line and performing admirably for Treviso before his departure at the end of last season.
12. Gonzalo Canale
Canale began his career with Treviso and has since gone on to become one of Italy's standout performers on the international stage, rarely taking a backward step.
11. Brendan Williams
Australian Williams turned out 250 times for Treviso in a 12-year career. An all-time Treviso legend and first-name on the team-sheet.
10. Michael Lynagh
A southern-hemisphere great, he turned out for Treviso for five winters in the early nineties where he met his wife Isabella. He also accumulated an unprecedented 911 test points for the Wallabies. Just edges out Kris Burton at stand-off.
9. Alessandro Troncon
Italian rugby great Troncon was born in Treviso and had two spells with his home club, winning six Italian league titles and 101 international caps in the process.
1. Gianluca Faliva
The former policeman may not have as much international experience as his more illustrious peers, but Faliva was the cornerstone of a Treviso pack which won eight Italian league titles between 1997 and 2007.
2. Leonardo Ghiraldini
Hooker Ghiraldini established himself as one of Europe's best hookers during his five-year tenure with Treviso leading to 80 Italian caps and he has gone on to become a key part of Leicester Tigers since his 2104 move.
3. Lorenzo Cittadini
The final part of a typically powerful all-Italian front-row Treviso, Cittadini currently plays for Wasps, but along with Ghiraldini made Treviso a feared scrummaging unit in the first half of the decade.
4. Santiago Dellape
Dellape announced his surprise international retirement on the eve of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, but he and Marco Bortolami were, in their prime, one of Italy's great second-row pairings. He was part of the 2003 Treviso Italian league winning side.
5. Tom Palmer
Palmer was a new addition to Treviso's squad and though his best years are beyond him, the former Wasps and England lock brings vast amounts of experience to the Italian's second-row.
6. Alessandro Zanni
Current captain Zanni has quietly accumulated 96 Italy caps as Parisse's less illustrious foil and has been the beating heart of Treviso for half a decade. Crucial part of 2012-2013 side.
7. Mauro Bergamasco
Bergamasco may have played his best rugby for Stade Français, but turned out for the Italian-league winning side in the early 90s and his 17-year Italy career will live long enough in the memory to earn him a start on the openside.
8. Sergio Parisse
A no-brainer. Parisse is one of world rugby's greatest talents and would walk into most international sides. Takes the captain's armband too.
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