It is contested by the six county teams ranked 24–29 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship.

The Nicky Rackard Cup, which was introduced for the 2005 season, is a recent initiative in providing a meaningful championship for third tier teams deemed "too weak" for any higher grades.

Originally introduced as a third-tier competition, it is currently the fourth tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system.

The committee was composed of chairman Pat Dunny (Kildare), Liam Griffin (Wexford), P. J. O'Grady (Limerick), Ger Loughnane (Clare), Cyril Farrell (Galway), Jimmy O'Reilly (Down), Willie Ring (Cork), Pat Daly (GAA Games Development Officer) and Nicky English (Tipperary).

The HDC also suggested that these games would be played as curtain raisers to All-Ireland quarter-finals and semi-finals.

The twelve participating teams were divided into three groups of four and played in a round-robin format.

The eventual group winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out quarter-finals of the competition.

Beginning in 2018, the Nicky Rackard Cup changed format, with initial ties played in group stages, which in 2018 consisted of one of four teams and one of three.

The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Nicky Rackard Cup titles, is as follows: