[1] Originally known as the U.S. Cup, the name was changed to the Nike U.S. Cup after Nike, Inc. signed a ten-year, $120 million contract with the United States Soccer Federation to sponsor the U.S. national teams in October 1997.

As part of the contract, USSF added Nike's name to the U.S. Cup title.

[2] In 1995, USSF added a women's competition which ran every year until 2002.

The 2001 edition was abandoned after three matches due to the September 11 attacks.

The cup was traditionally played in a single round-robin format between the four participating national teams.